See the Light
by Bruiser
Summary: Sent to Hell and there's no place to hide. Can Buffy and Xander get through it? Or will they be lost forever? B/X friendship.*Chapter Replacement 13&14 for Xander fans. Please check it out.*
1. Night's Longing

Disclamer: Not mine. Never was, never will be. But hey, at the least the story is mine.  
  
Spoiler: Happen's after Xander and cordiela split up, just as the series started leaving the good 'ol days. Okay, so there's this demon that can send people to Hell and the Scoobies learn a few lessons in life.  
  
I'm not one to beg, but please take a couple of seconds to review. I'd appreciate it. Thanks and peace out!  
  
Thanks: I'd like to thank Joss for making the characters so plausible and I'd like to thank the cast for putting the characters to life. I love the series and am a devoted fan. Shout out to all my homies out there that I haven't talked to in a while. Peace out and hope you might learn something from this. I believe in every story there is a lesson to be learned.  
  
  
  
  
See the Light  
  
Saturday night, the moon sat high in the starlit sky, bathing the streets with a ghostly glow. The wind gently rocked the tree tops and whispered a sweet motherly lullaby. Spring was coming and flowers started to bloom. A scent of flower buds tickled the nose and the eagerness to get outside settled upon man kind.  
  
That would be a little happy dream made up for the Scooby Gang. No instead the winds whispered ominous threats and the moon cast dark shadows upon the land. Spring became a time for people to do stupid things and think that they were safe from the winter's dark evil secrets.   
  
But thinking like that, definitely not Xander Harris's style. No, he was the one who would see the up to things. The one people talked to and he'd try to make them all better. It was a drag, but he felt up to the challenge.   
  
Tonight he sat in the Bronze, the only cool place in Sunnydale, with two very bummed out girls. One wasn't very happy because her boyfriend was in full Werewolf mode at this very second and was trying to figure out how to get out of the Library Cage. The other wasn't happy because she was lacking in the relationship department.  
  
He of course joined them in the bummed department. He couldn't get with the girl of his dreams, which would, of course, be Buffy Summers. No he didn't dwell on the horrible sense of humor that fate seemed to possess. No, right now he was really down that Cordiela had the audacity to go to the Bahamas with her family. Another factor to add in was that she didn't like him because he accidentally kissed Willow. Hey it was all his hormone's fault.  
  
"Okay, we are very much the talkative group." Xander sighed looking at the totally sad group of people he belonged to. Not that they were sad as in hopeless, but sad in emotion wise. "I say we leave and go to the Espresso Pump. I'm in the mood for a double Mocha ."  
  
The Slayer raised her eyebrow to him and rolled her eyes. "Do you always think about your stomach?"  
  
"Buffy we're talking about Xander here." Willow reminded her.  
  
"What was I thinking?" Buffy asked sarcastically. "But Xander, you do have a point. I'm definitely in the mood to splurge. Anyway, the band isn't that great tonight."  
  
Willow stiffened making him cringe. Definitely not a good thing to talk about bands when Will's boy was in one of his wolfy tendencies. Buffy didn't seem to notice that she had put Willow in an even worse mood as she headed towards the door. Willow followed leaving Xander to take the rear of the train, which he seemed to always do. But right now he was perfectly happy to take the rear.   
  
Outside the cold refreshing breeze rolled around them as they marched to the 'major talking place for stressed Scooby members'. Buffy walked between he and Willow. Nobody felt like talking because everyone had something to deal with. He, the Xandman, didn't like silence.  
  
"Soooo, college... I'm a no go since my scores are down in the dirt and covered with... well mud. How about you brainy ones?" Xander asked pushing his hands into his pocket. Everyone snapped out of their little world. Both girls cringed at their future unplanned plans. They had their own major problems with the college deal. Willow had the trouble of picking an Ivey league school or becoming a groupie for Oz's band. He really didn't think that was any large problem. In fact he would kill... bad word to use when living in the Hellmouth, he would love to have those problems.   
  
And Buffster? The Slayer and protector of all that is good and fun? Well, she had the problem of choosing to stay in Sunnydale and going to a local college or going to a nice university to get a better education away from the Hellmouth. She surprised all her friends and even herself with her through the roof SAT scores. Even Xander couldn't figure out how she could managed to fail gym class yet be a total brainiac.  
  
"Giles and my mother are pushing me towards going out of town, maybe even out of state..." Buffy replied. It was her chance to leave, to go to a new place away from all the evil. Yet for some unknown reason she seemed to be reluctant to go.  
  
"Which means you'd be free...? What's the downer?" Xander asked finally voicing everyone's burning question. Even Willow came out of her zone to find the absolute truth.  
  
Buffy shrugged. "I can't just leave Faith here to fight. It wouldn't be right."  
  
"Well, lets see. You've been doing this for sometime, longer then she has. Maybe you should retire. You know, maybe you'll get a pension from the Watchers Council." Xander looked at her as if trying to make some sense to a four year old.   
  
"I can see it now in Giles's Watcher Diary... Buffy Anne Summers has decided to throw hundreds of years of tradition out the window and retire so she can go to college and receive a higher education elsewhere." She grinned. Then she frowned at him as if realizing something. "How do you know you're not going to college?"  
  
"Yeah, you're smart... In your own way and all. Your good at stuff and... Yeah... Who knows, you might be accepted... I mean... Yeah." Willow said in her own Willowy way. Buffy nodded looking over at him.  
  
He shook his head. "Mmmm no. You see Will, you have the grades, Buffster has the SAT's and who knows why Oz isn't in college yet. Even the teachers and principal are perplexed by his status. And Cordiela has grades and scores. You see I live at the bottom of the education chain and am hanging by one hand. I have neither grades nor SAT scores. Which is cool because I, Xander Harris, has accepted it and moved on."  
  
Buffy opened her mouth to reply when something grabbed him by the shoulders and leaned in with it's hot and oh so gross breath. Willow let out a scream just as the vampire came in for a bite.   
  
The Slayer punched the vampire in the face and it let go of Xander, holding it's nose in pain. He quickly moved out of the way and Buffy got in front of the two fanged undead guy. That was a way too close of a call.   
  
With a mix of Bruce Lee and an Olympic gymnastic athlete, Buffy dropped to the ground on her hands and swung her legs underneath the obese fangy dead guy. Any coach would have applauded that move as the vampire dropped heavily to the ground.   
  
The vampire sprang back up unfazed to get even more Slayer ass kicking. Willow watch tensely along side Xander as the two super power beings did the tango... figuratively speaking. With two kicks in the face and a punch in the gut, the vampire went down. Xander decided if this fellow was going to become another pile of dust, the Slayer would need equipment which was in her bag on the ground right in front of him. He would be glad to be equipment guy.   
  
Grabbing the bag, he searched for a spare stake. He found one and yelled at Buffy. They had done this so many times that all he had to do was throw the stake towards her and she'd grab it out of the air. That was just what happened and the vampire turned into ash.  
  
"Okay, now I really need something to get my mind off vampires." Buffy huffed brushing her hair out of her eyes.  
  
"Chocolate here we come." Xander replied more carefree and confident than he actually felt.  
  
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They were twenty feet away from the campus when Willow noticed something moving in the bushes to their left. She figured it'd be a good time to inform everyone of the noticeably lurking evil. "Uhm, there's something moving in the bushes over there."  
  
"I noticed that." Buffy replied digging into her book bag. "What do you think.. human, vampire, or big ugly monster?"  
  
"Actually I was hoping for big ugly human guy who liked bushes." Xander said as he backed away from the bushes along with Willow and Buffy. "Though most humans don't hide behind bushes if I remember correctly." 


	2. Attack

See the Light  
  
  
Even though everyone seemed to be okay with her now, she still felt like something was missing... A part of her. Yeah Angel had come back and her friends, although very reluctant, accepted him again. But still, she felt lost and there was no one she could really express this too. Not even her two best friends. A piece of her soul had been lost and she didn't know how to get it back.  
  
Okay, people would probable call this depression, but she wasn't going to stoop that low. No, she tried to stay happy, but sometimes people just caught her on a very rough day. She had to deal with Faith, who seemed very unsociable at the moment and very unstable, while dealing with her own Slayer related problems.  
  
No, right now she was going to sit here with her two best friends and just deal. They were definitely not in a good mood for they had their own problems. Xander, of course being a guy, would never confess that he was in an oh so horrible bad mood. Instead he tried to entertain them, which wasn't working at the moment. And Willow had fallen madly in love with Oz, who tonight, was a no show because he lived on the Hellmouth and turned into a nice fuzzy werewolf every month. Blue moons were not a good month for the couple.  
  
"Not much activity, eh?" Xander asked snapping her out of her thinking state. She looked over at him and nodded.  
  
"Yeah, actually that attack tonight relieved me a little." She replied rubbing her neck. On the table in front of her sat a steaming hot cup of latte. It was her comfort drink and tonight she definitely needed it.  
  
"Relieved you? My neck is still cursing at me for letting two majorly needing dental work fangs get too close to it." Xander told her and she shrugged.  
  
"I think the end of the world is a tad bit more important then a cursing neck, don't you? I mean what happens when vampires aren't active or are too active? Usually the end of man kind." She took a sip of her drink and let it slip down her throat. It felt good, gave her time to relax. Relaxing wasn't usually in the Slayer agenda.  
  
"Well yes..." Xander nodded.  
  
Willow looked at her watch for the fifteen millionth time. Letting out a little sigh, she went back to her drink. Yup, right now all of them had one problem with relationships. So that meant her misery had company for one night. Nope, she was going to try and lighten up. This was a change she had been working on since she had gotten back. No frowns and better grades, so far she hadn't done too well on either.  
  
"Shouldn't we..." Willow started and Xander finished.  
  
"Go back to the library to check on the boy who woke up on the wrong side of the moon?" Xander offered with a cocky grin. "Sure."  
  
* * * * *  
  
Glad to be heading back, Willow let herself smile and enjoy the cool night breeze. Tonight would be the last night of the full moon. Tomorrow she'd get twenty-four hours, all the way, Oz. Who couldn't help but smile at that?   
  
"Nobody knows the trouble I feel..." Xander started singing. "Nobody knows my sorrow."  
  
"Hey, that's not the Xander we know and love... Metaphorically speaking... In an un physical like kinda love like thing. Like being a friend and stuff..." Willow sighed. Ever since that kiss thingy, it'd been hard to hang with Xander. She loved Oz and he gave her a Pez Witch thingy. She wasn't going to mess up again.  
  
"Yeah because physical is bad, very bad." Xander nodded.  
  
They were twenty feet away from the campus when Willow noticed something moving in the bushes to their left. She figured it'd be a good time to inform everyone of the noticeably lurking evil. "Uhm, there's something moving in the bushes over there."  
  
"I noticed that." Buffy replied digging into her book bag. "What do you think.. human, vampire, or big ugly monster?"  
  
"Actually I was hoping for big ugly human guy who liked bushes." Xander said as he backed away from the bushes along with Willow and Buffy. "Though most humans don't hide behind bushes if I remember correctly."  
  
"Well they do if they want to puff the magic dragon or have a major make out session." Buffy put her bag onto the ground as she twirled the stake in her hand. "But somehow I'm doubting it's human hormones that are making that tree shake."   
  
Something rushed out. It moved too fast to be a vampire and way too fast to be a human. Xander fell to the ground as the thing tackled him. Buffy was there in an instant trying to pry the demon off. The thing was definitely a demon with its horns and gross slimy substance dripping off it's skin.  
  
With two punches to it's face, the demon rolled off and jumped back up to attack Buffy. They both rolled to the ground and then the beast ran off. Willow wasn't sure, but a demon running off didn't seem like such a good thing.  
  
She went to help Xander stand up as Buffy dusted herself off. Inspecting the damage, she noticed there was a small cut on Xander's forearm. It blood rolled down his arm and off his hand. The cut may be small, but it was deep.   
  
"Shit." Buffy growled holding her own arm. "You'd think this beast wouldn't attack and then run. It's not logical."  
  
"What a chicken." Xander groaned with sarcasm.  
  
The Slayer also had a few cuts on her arms. Willow had been the only one unmarred. That was definitely a new thing to be the only one not attacked. Most went after her because she seemed to always be the weakest one.  
  
"You okay Xander?" Buffy asked now looking at Xander who had paled through the fight.  
  
"Yeah, wonderful. Next time that happens I'm going to do the happy feet dance. But right now the pain is stopping me from doing that. So I wont." Xander replied.  
  
"We should go to Giles... and get you guys fixed up..."Willow looked nervously at the two. "Giles...He'll be there because he has to baby sit Oz."  
  
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"Not hungry for a change?" Buffy asked smiling.  
  
"Mmm, I think that coffee I had this morning went bad or something. I'm not feeling one hundred percent Xander right now." Xander replied. As far as she could tell he was absolutely correct. Xander didn't look all that great. His face looked paler then usual and his eyes were a bit red. "I didn't get much sleep last night. I think I'm sick."  
  
Buffy nodded. "Maybe you should go home, rest up." 


	3. Getting Sick

See the Light  
  
Rubbing his temples, Giles looked at the very frustrated werewolf. The thing banged against the metal bars all night. Giles had to remind himself that the beast was actually Oz and Willow would be very angry if he shot a silver arrow into the demon.  
  
Tonight he began trying to figure out why there were so many deaths in the hospital. Lately a lot of people had been mugged and the next day they'd be laying in the hospital sick as a dog. He hadn't been able to find anything suspicious. None of them had fang marks.  
  
"Bloody hell, I just don't understand this." Giles groaned.  
  
"Maybe you could take a break and work on some battle wounds for us Doctor G." Buffy called to him from the front of the library. He had been so consumed with his work that he hadn't heard anyone entering. Also it might have a great deal to do with Oz slamming against the cage bars. Grimacing at the Slayer's American teenage slang, he turned towards the door.  
  
Scanning over at the three teens, he noticed they had gotten into quite a scuffle. Xander held his arm close to his body and a large bruise started to form on his forehead. Buffy also had cuts and bruises all over. Willow just looked shocked. What the bloody hell happened?  
  
"Got mugged by an ugly demon." Buffy told him as if reading his mind.   
  
"Willow, go get the First Aid kit from my office. Buffy, Xander, please sit down. Now tell me what happened." He walked over to them and studied the scratches on Buffy's arm.  
  
"We were walking back from the Espresso Pump when we caught something moving in the bushes about twenty or thirty feet from the campus. At first I thought vamp, but then it just didn't feel right. Like it didn't come on my spider sense..." Giles looked at her confused and she rolled her eyes. "Spider sense as in Spiderman. Spiderman is a comic super hero..." Giles looked at her impatiently and she sighed. "Anyway, the demon is faster then anything I've ever seen. I didn't get a good look at it but Willow might have. For some reason it ignored Willow completely as if she weren't there. It attacked Xander first. I went to get it off him and it attacked me. After a trade of blows it ran off as if something had scared it."   
  
"Yes well..." Giles said trying to keep up with her fast pace. The scrapes just looked like a cat had scratched her. A couple of them were deeper then the others. The more shallow ones were already healing. He was still amazed by how quickly she healed. Even with all the Watcher training that he had had and all the times Buffy would look like hell one night and just perfectly fine the next morning.  
  
Willow came out with his box of bandages and rubbing alcohol. He addressed Xander's wounds first and then started on Buffy's deeper cuts. He figured he'd leave the shallow cuts alone since they seemed to do fine on their own.  
  
Willow looked at Oz and then back at Giles. "The demon was all slimy and a dark shade of green. It had long sharp claws and it had horns on top of it's head."   
  
"How many?"  
  
"How many what?" Willow asked confused.  
  
"How many horns Willow?" Giles asked standing up straight and looking over at his stack of books.   
  
Willow's brow knotted and then she snapped her finger. "Three."  
  
Xander let out a cough and grinned. "Goodie, we get to find out about a new demon. Research time."  
  
"Does that mean you are volunteering?" Giles asked.  
  
"Uh, did that sound like volunteering? Cause if it did, I didn't mean it like that. I'm kinda tired and all. That attack took everything out of me. I think my mom is calling me. You know she hates me to miss the twelve o'clock news." Xander stood up. The boy did look a bit tired. So did Buffy who nodded along with him.  
  
"Alright you three may head home. I doubt we can find too much anyway." Giles waved them off.  
  
Willow shook her head. "I'm going to stay with Oz. I'll help you. I'm research girl all the way."  
  
Buffy grinned at the girl and then waved to Giles. "I'll be back at seven. Xander lets boogie."  
  
The two walked out and Giles went back to his stacks. Now he had two things on his hands, a demon, and the latest occurrences of hospital entrances and deaths. It would be one long bloody night.  
  
* * * * *  
  
The sun's rays crept through the old musty windows of the Sunnydale High library. Oz got dressed quickly and now waited patiently for either Giles or Willow to wake up. He watched the clock making sure he wouldn't let them sleep past the homeroom bell. The clock read six fifty two. He figured he'd wake them up at seven ten. A late night stay meant something was wrong. But that made him wonder why Buffy and Xander hadn't stayed to help. He started making up situations and then shook the images out of his head. He wouldn't worry unless it was time to worry.  
  
One of the library doors slowly opened. Oz let out a sigh and pressed against the wall. If it was a student, they'd have a whole lot of explaining to do, such as why Giles and Willow were sleeping here and why Oz stood inside the Library Book Cage.  
  
"Alright sleepy bums, time to get up. New morning and all." A familiar voice said as the person walked towards the cage. The voice belonged to the Slayer and she had the key to let him out.  
  
Giles sat up off the table and rubbed his eyes. Willow was a little slower to get up and her gaze went towards the cage. The bared door opened and he walked out knowing that he had freedom for twenty nine more days.  
  
"Oh dear, what time is it?" Giles asked placing his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Buffy looked at her plate of food. Cafeteria food, right now, just didn't look very good. Like it ever did? The principal said that they served gourmet food. She felt sorry for the rich people who liked gourmet food. No wonder most of them were so skinny.  
  
Xander sat next to her as always, but today he hadn't scarified up his food. That part was definitely strange. No matter how bad and horrible the food looked, Xander usually ate it frighteningly fast. Today he just played with the school's entree, pasta and beef casserole.  
  
"Not hungry for a change?" Buffy asked smiling.  
  
"Mmm, I think that coffee I had this morning went bad or something. I'm not feeling one hundred percent Xander right now." Xander replied. As far as she could tell he was absolutely correct. Xander didn't look all that great. His face looked paler then usual and his eyes were a bit red. "I didn't get much sleep last night. I think I'm sick."  
  
Buffy nodded. "Maybe you should go home, rest up."  
  
"I would but my parents have just found out about each others annoying habits and it's kinda loud in the house. I wouldn't be able to sleep if someone handed me sleeping pills." Xander told her and then nodded to someone behind her. She knew who it or they were before turning to them.  
  
"Hey Xander, hey Buffy." Willow said sitting beside her. Oz sat in between Xander and Willow with his home made lunch. He was definitely the smartest of the bunch. Nobody else was willing to wake up early and pack a lunch. "Guess what...?"  
  
Xander rolled his eyes. "Oz is werewolf free. We know."  
  
Both Buffy and Willow frowned. It wasn't like Xander to groan about something like this. He usually liked to be interested with whatever Willow was into. Even Oz looked over at Xander with as much concern as he could muster up.  
  
"Maybe you should go home Xander." Buffy nodded. "Get some rest, come back when you're one hundred percent Xanderman."  
  
"You're not feeling well?" Willow frowned.  
  
"Yeah... I'm not coming to the after school meeting today." Xander rubbed his temples and tried to smile. He failed miserably and went back to playing with his food.  
  
"So did Giles figure out what just attacked us last night?" Willow asked biting the only edible thing on her plate, which was a cold roll.  
  
Shrugging, Buffy took a sip of her tropical fruit splash drink and then sighed. "Not really. Nothing more then you two found before you fell asleep."  
  
Coming up:  
  
"Where's Xander? He usually comes about the time you come."  
  
"Ah, good ol' Xander. He wasn't feeling well, so he went home to rest his eyes." Buffy nodded. 


	4. Research USA

See the Light  
  
"Ah, Buffy." Giles said as the young blond came into the library. At first sight, most would see her as the typical flaky teenage girl who only knew about fashion and popularity. But once you got to actually know her, she was quite pleasant to be around...Well as long as she didn't talk a million words per second.  
  
Actually it was interesting to read his first Watcher Diary entries. He put in quite a few crude words in it about his first thoughts on her. Yes she did put on an interesting first appearance.  
  
Today she didn't look at all like herself though. She seemed more worried then usual and she hadn't dressed up in the latest American teen fad. No, in fact she wore gray sweat pants, a blue tank top, and a gray zip-up jacket. Dark circles showed under her eyes, which she usually kept hidden under makeup, now seemed to intensify how tired she looked.  
  
"Okay Giles, we have to find out about that demon. Three kids were brutally murdered last night adding to the already massive list of our Yearbook Memorial Page. All attacked with the same wild kitty scrapes. I'm guessing same three horned demon." Buffy said to him jumping up on one of the tables and looking over at him.  
  
"Yes, I heard about that. I still have no current leads. There are a lot of demons with sharp claws and three horns." Giles reminded her. "Where's Xander? He usually comes about the time you come."  
  
"Ah, good ol' Xander. He wasn't feeling well, so he went home to rest his eyes." Buffy nodded.  
  
Giles began to wonder if this demon had anything to do with the recent hospital attendance. Shaking his head, it sounded too ridiculous. This demon tore people apart while the people in the hospital just showed signs of sickness.  
  
"So, research USA here we come." Buffy told him hopping off the table.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Xander pushed all his dirty clothes off his bed and then fell on top of it. His head felt as though someone had hammered a spike through his brain and the scratch on his arm burned like hot ashes. Earlier in class it felt like the whole room spun around him. That wasn't a good feeling to have while taking your calculus test.  
  
Upstairs his parents yelled at each other at the top of their lungs, so he had no hope of sleeping. They hadn't even noticed that he had come home earlier. His dad grunted to him and his mother just said hi. That was how his family acted towards him everyday. They hadn't cared about him since he was... Well he didn't even remember the last time they actually seemed to care.  
  
Throwing the pillow over his head, he tried to fall asleep.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"...And Oz?" Buffy asked pushing her hands into her pockets. The cold night air that blew on her exposed skin made her shiver. She hadn't had anything to fight all night. Tonight was definitely boring.  
  
Oz shrugged. "I'm free. Got nothing else to do. I'll probable go back with Willow since nothing seems to be happening."  
  
Willow grinned and kissed Oz on the cheek. Yeah, Buffy was happy for them although they reminded her of her singleness. She had always dreamed of having the perfect man who understood about her Slayer life and didn't care. The guy would be normal in mortal terms, but liked to do dangerous things. She liked guys with Grrr as he ex-friend had said. In fact, she was basically describing her relationship before Angel. Pike. Pike was a different story. He had left her without much of a good-bye. It still hurt her to think about it.  
  
"So this is my house." Willow stated snapping Buffy back to the real world.  
  
"Yeah, I better go make sure she gets into the house safely." Oz grinned casually.  
  
Buffy waved them off. "I'm beat, I'll see you guys later."  
  
* * * * *  
  
Joyce always worried. She was a women who liked to worry... well she didn't like to worry but, she just worried. Being the mother of the Slayer hadn't helped matters. Every night she'd sit up until her daughter got home from her nightly patrol. Every time she came home, it meant her daughter was safe from harms way until the next night when she'd have to put herself between humanity and the forces of evil.  
  
Last night her daughter had come in around ten and looked incredibly tired. The other night she had scratches and bruises all over. Most had already healed, only the deepest scratch stayed visible. Something about a three horned demon and not to worry about it. Her daughter thought of slaying as a light but annoying job, or at least that's what Joyce's perspective was on her daughter's attitude towards her duty. She waved off her mother's worry and always said it was nothing to worry about.  
  
She noticed that the clock read seven o'clock , her daughter hadn't woken up yet. Joyce shuffled down the hall towards Buffy's room. Quietly opening the door, she saw that the room was an absolute mess. Hadn't she told Buffy to clean her room two days ago?   
  
Buffy lay in her bed sound asleep. Her chest slowly rose and fell at a steady pace. Joyce always thought her daughter was beautiful, but when she slept, she looked like an angel. All the worry and angst expressions her daughter always seemed to have on were erased, now only peace sat upon her.  
  
Sighing, she figured she better wake her daughter up for school. "Buffy, time to get up."  
  
Her daughter moaned incoherently and then slowly sat up. Smiling, Joyce went back to her daily morning routine. Today would be a good day, she'd make it a good day.  
  
Coming up:  
"Not feeling well?" Oz asked not pushing for her to answer. If she wanted to answer she could.  
  
"Yeah, last night I barely slept. I haven't been able to focus on school work. I think I've caught what Xander has." Buffy sighed again. 


	5. Cream Filled Thingies

See the Light  
  
"Xander's a no show." Willow said looking over at Oz with worry. "He always comes to school. I don't even remember the last time he has gotten sick."  
  
"Definitely not good." Oz nodded grabbing his lunch out of his locker. He always brought lunch. If he didn't, he'd rather starve to death then eat the cafeteria food. He didn't understand how the others could eat food that looked so unhealthy for you.  
  
Right next to him was the love of his life. Even with the little incident with Xander, he still loved the girl. So she had a weak moment, everyone did. How could he not love her? She was so beautiful and sexy. Also, she was smart, which was also sexy. He slammed his locker door closed.  
  
They headed to the cafeteria. Students rushed by them trying to get to the lunch room before the lines got too long. Yup, he was in a loss of understanding their lunch rush. All they had to do was go to the store and get prepackaged food and put it into a brown paper bag. Was that so hard?  
  
He spotted Buffy in the back of the Cafeteria sitting at a round table. It was what they usually did since Cordiela and Xander usually sat with them. Cordiela would come back tomorrow from her long exotic trip, but Xander, he wasn't sure when he'd return. Willow was right, when was the last time he had gotten sick?  
  
"Hey Buffy." Willow said to the Slayer who had her head in a calculus book.  
  
Buffy barely acknowledged them and went back to her book. There must be a quiz or test in that class, he figured. Willow went off to the lines as he started pulling out the food in his bag. He always brought extra for anyone who was still hungry after they tried to eat the indigestible cafeteria food. Xander was always hungry and every once in awhile Buffy or Willow would take a few pretzels.  
  
"Math test?" Oz asked looking across the table.  
  
Buffy sighed putting the book down on top of the fake wood. Nodding slightly, she looked down at her food, which she hadn't touched. In fact, she looked about like how Xander looked yesterday.  
  
"Not feeling well?" Oz asked not pushing for her to answer. If she wanted to answer she could.  
  
"Yeah, last night I barely slept. I haven't been able to focus on school work. I think I've caught what Xander has." Buffy sighed again.  
  
"That's not cool." Oz replied and began munching on his turkey sandwich.   
  
A few minutes later, Willow sat down with her tray. On the tray there was an assortment of things. Potato chips, a grilled cheese sandwich, an apple, and a carton of Milk. Today was the day they actually had something edible, he was amazed.  
  
"Hey, you don't look so good Buffy. I mean, as in, you look sick, but you still look okay..." Willow started on one of her nervous ramblings. Buffy put her hand up to stop her.  
  
"Yeah, not felling great. You don't have to worry, I'm not Cordiela." Buffy nodded and stuck her fork into her grilled cheeses sandwich. The fake cheese squeezed out of the little holes the fork made.  
  
"You aren't getting what Xander has are you?" Willow asked with worry written all over her face. Buffy shrugged. She wasn't into talking that much, he observed.  
  
Since he had met the group, he noticed that Xander and Willow were alike. Both could ramble on for days without making much sense. Xander had a sense of humor and seemed find humor in everything when he was nervous, scared, or any other time. Willow had the brains and could do cool things on the computer.   
  
And Buffy? She was in her own little group. She had a sense of humor and used it in times of need, like when they were in serious trouble and needed to catch the demon off guard or when everyone was down. Buffy would also get silent all of the sudden and go into some deep meditation thing. She had a lot of things to worry about, like saving the world. The Slayer wasn't the biggest talker in the world, but when she talked, she was quick about it and you had to pay attention cause the words zoomed out of her mouth.  
  
Today she was in a very quiet mode. When she was in that mode, it was hard to get a smile out of her and even harder to get her to talk. Without Xander, it seemed almost impossible to get her to smile.  
  
Oz, he knew he was the laid back guy. He took things in and tried to help out if he needed to. In some ways, he and Buffy were similar. They both like to take things in and they both hadn't grown up with Xander or Willow. So in ways, they had been adopted by the two.   
  
"Have you heard that Xander isn't at school today?" Willow asked Buffy who came out of her own little zone again to reply to the overly talkative Willow. He wondered if he should try to stop Willow from talking Buffy's ear off.  
  
"I noticed in first period." she replied.  
  
"When was the last time he was absent for school?" Willow demanded as if this would make the boy get out of bed and come to school. Buffy raised her eyebrow as if daring her to make her answer. Willow rolled her eyes. "I mean when not dealing with evil."  
  
"Never."  
  
"Exactly." Willow said triumphantly.  
  
"You called him last night and he told you that he wasn't coming to school and so you're worrying about nothing." Buffy said quickly shutting her book. "Will, he's probable watching cartoons right now and eating those little cream filled thingies."  
  
"Twinkies?" Oz asked.  
  
Willow sighed and took a bite out of her grilled cheese sandwich.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Feeling bad was an understatement. Feeling horrible worked for her. The room spun out of control. Which way? Well clockwise...no counterclockwise... no... well she wasn't sure. Yup, she was going to wring Xander's neck for getting her sick. The large deep scratch on her arm that hadn't healed yet, burned like acid.  
  
And yet she found herself now outside with her friends going on patrol. The ironies of life would get her in the end. Yup, she was sure of it. She had stopped by Xander's right before going back to the library to find him puking his guts out. It wasn't a pretty sight and she hoped that her thing would go away so she wouldn't didn't look like that.  
  
"Slayer never gets sick leave." Buffy grumbled under her breath.  
  
"What?" Willow asked looking over at her with big blue-green eyes.  
  
"Nothing. I'm just going to do a quick round in the cemetery and call it a night." Buffy told the two and they nodded.  
  
She took out a stake just in case, but if a vampire did come out tonight, well she probable couldn't do a thing about it. But at least she had two people who were perfectly capable of staking a vampire and keeping her alive. For once she counted wholly on them and yet they didn't know it. Again, irony.  
  
Another problem was this demon. She hadn't seen it since the other night. Only that it was making lunch meat out of the people in Sunnydale. He was knife or uh... claw happy.  
  
As they entered the cemetery, Buffy felt the hairs on her neck stick straight up. It was a warning sign. She understood that much of it. Although she had no clue why it happened. It probable had to do with being a Slayer and all.  
  
Looking around, she finally spotted what had made her hairs do the robot. Some vampire trying to get out of it's grave looked over at her with a searing glare. Great, a new born. Half his body had had gotten out of the ground and it wouldn't take too long until it could get on it's feet. She hated new borns, they were stupid and dangerous.  
  
She nodded to the two beside her and then ran in. The newbie had come out in his Sunday's best, which now looked disgustingly dirty. The man had been a neighbor of hers, it was Mr. Yoko. He was a short man with a long goatee. He loved reading and would sit out in his yard on his lawn chair every afternoon to read the great novels of the twentieth century. Well now all he wanted and loved was blood.  
  
It ran at her full speed. She stopped and flipped the stake it her hand waiting for the two fanged undead to meet her. Using his speed, she flipped the man on to his back. This was something that Tae Kwon Doe students learned and she had learned with her first watcher, Merrick. Use the opponents power to your advantage. Gee she should get a black belt.  
  
Buffy kicked the vampire who now tried to get up off the ground. The thing rolled a few feet away and then got up. It ran at her again now thirsting for her blood. His eyes hungered as he grabbed her by the shoulder. She butted him in the head and grabbed it's arm. Twisting it behind the vampire, she stabbed the demon through it's back. It was hard to stake through the back, but the bone gave away and the pointy wood hit Yoko's dead heart.  
  
Dust to dust.  
  
Then she dropped to the ground and everything went black.  
  
Coming up:  
  
Hell no. He wasn't going to let them take him without a fight. His room was just fine. Where was Buffy when you need her?  
  
He felt something poke his arm and he slapped at it. These demons, they held him down as he tried to buck them off. And then suddenly everything inside of him went calm, like he lost all his energy to fight. Now he was definitely doomed and he could do nothing about it. 


	6. The Call

See the Light  
  
He wasn't really sure what was happening. All he knew was that people were pulling him off the bed. He didn't like that, not one bit. Using the only energy that he had left, he gripped the sheets. People talked to him, he wasn't sure what they said.   
  
"Alex. That's your name right? Don't worry. We'll take care of you."  
  
Who the hell were they? Some kind of possessed demons or something?   
  
"We're going to take you to the hospital. You're sick and you need medical treatment. Please let us help you. Your parents called. Your mother is worried. Let us help you."  
  
Hell no. He wasn't going to let them take him without a fight. His room was just fine. Where was Buffy when you need her?  
  
He felt something poke his arm and he slapped at it. These demons, they held him down as he tried to buck them off. And then suddenly everything inside of him went calm, like he lost all his energy to fight. Now he was definitely doomed and he could do nothing about it.  
  
* * * * *   
  
"Yeah... I feel much better." Buffy mumbled as Joyce put a washcloth onto her daughter's forehead. Oz and Willow sat on one of the couches in the living room waiting to see what they should do. As a mother of 17 years, she knew her daughter was lying.   
  
"What happened?" Joyce asked looking at two concerned teenagers.  
  
Buffy mumbled something, but there was no way in the world Joyce was actually going to understand what she had just said. Willow was next for the explanation. "Well... uh... You know Buffy being the Slayer and all... We went to-- patrol and after Buffy staked a vampire she collapsed onto the ground."  
  
Joyce looked back at her daughter who looked as though she were trying to stay awake. Buffy shrugged. "How long have you been not feeling well and not telling me?"  
  
"Mmmm... Yesterday... I think." her daughter groaned.  
  
"Well, you two can go home. I'm going to help her into bed. Tell Mr. Giles that she isn't coming to school tomorrow and that she is certainly not going patroling until after she gets better. Have a good night you two. Oh and thank you for your help." She nodded to the two teens and they quickly stood up.  
  
"Alright. We'll see you Buffy. Feel better." Willow waved to her and pulled the boy, Oz, along to the door. Buffy raised her hand and then let it fall.  
  
"If we don't get your temperature down to one hundred I am taking you to the doctor." Joyce told her and Buffy let out a soft groan. Ever since she went to the hospital with her cousin, she despised the hospital. Joyce sympathized to a point. Risking one's health broke that point. "Let's get you to bed."  
  
* * * * *  
  
Willow threw her book bag on to the floor and shuffled to the answering machine. Maybe Oz had called her... although it probable wasn't true since he had just driven out of the drive way two minutes ago. Her parents had gone out to dinner and a movie which meant she didn't have to explain her tardiness. It was one AM in the morning... Her curfew was twelve.  
  
She pushed play and grabbed a glass from the cupboard.  
  
"Hey it's me, your Aunt Sally. Mark will be turning thirteen soon! You know what that means. Call me soon." A high pitch voice said with excitement.  
  
"Yippee, bar-mitzvah." Willow grumbled.  
  
"Hey Will (cough), it's me. I'm at the hospital. Doctors got my temperature down to 101 which is good. I heard Buffy's not feeling too good either. Hope she doesn't have what I have. I'm hoping (cough) that I'll go home tomorrow. I'll talk to you later." Xander's voice spoke slowly with a tired tone.  
  
She looked at the answering machine and then replayed the message. Without haste, she dialed Buffy's number. Everything that had gone on tonight had slipped her mind and all her worry was now placed on Xander. Sure he said he was okay, but he always said he was okay. She knew him well. He was lying.  
  
Coming Soon:  
  
"Have you checked in with Buffy?" Giles asked looking at the girl. Oz had his arm around her trying to comfort her.  
  
"Well... no. She was kinda angry at me for calling at one AM in the morning so I figured I wouldn't call at seven on the same day." Willow told him 


	7. Finding Out

See the Light  
  
The phone rang. It sounded so loud. Too loud. In fact she wanted to tare the phone jack out of the wall and she could have done it if she wasn't feeling so horrible. Rolling over to her side she looked at the clock. It was one ten in the morning. Who would call this late?  
  
She grabbed the telephone and mumbled what somewhat resembled a 'hello'.  
  
"Buffy, it's Willow. Xander's in the hospital. He said he was okay but I don't think he is." Willow yelled into her side of the phone as though Buffy were deaf.  
  
"Willow, do you have any clue what time it is?" Buffy asked rubbing her temples. Yeah her fever had gone down to a good one hundred allowing her not to make a visit to the hospital. That was a good thing. Hospitals were just plain evil.  
  
"Xander's in the hospital." Willow reminded her.  
  
The Slayer paused for a moment trying to figure out where Willow's head had gone. She surly had forgotten Buffy wasn't one hundred percent herself. What could she do to help Xander? He had doctors. "Willow, for the past hour I've been throwing my guts up. I can't do anything. Why don't you go to the hospital tomorrow? You can't do anything tonight because it's after visitors hour. Calm down, get some sleep. Get yourself together. Call me at a decent hour when you find out how he is."  
  
"Yeah... good plan. Thanks Buffy." She replied.  
  
"Not that I did anything, but no problem. Good night Will."   
  
"Night."  
  
* * * * *  
  
Giles looked at the very concerned red head. He could see why she was concerned for her two best friends were pretty sick. Xander was still in the hospital and doctors had no clue what exactly was wrong with him. Buffy seemed to be coming down with the same thing. Neither Oz nor Willow showed any signs of symptoms...  
  
He started going back to a suspicion that he had thrown out of the window a while back. That demon that had attack three nights ago had something to do with the hospital appearances and deaths. It must have something to do with the scratches since Willow seemed fine.  
  
"Have you checked in with Buffy?" Giles asked looking at the girl. Oz had his arm around her trying to comfort her.  
  
"Well... no. She was kinda angry at me for calling at one AM in the morning so I figured I wouldn't call at seven on the same day." Willow told him.   
  
Giles could see that she was probable right. But why the heck did she call Buffy of all people. She was sick and there wasn't much the Slayer can do with sickness unless she killed this demon. But what kind of bloody demon could infect a person with it's claws?  
  
"I believe it's time to do some more research. Willow you can't do anything for Xander right now but help me find what this demon is and how we can reverse whatever is wrong with the two. I have a feeling it is some kind of poison. Willow, if you could look on the internet and Oz help me with the books. Look for anything that is a demon with three horns, is green and can affect people by scratching them. Oz, there are some books I would like you to look over in the book cage." Giles nodded towards the cage that Oz spent during his full moon phase.  
  
"I'm on it." Oz replied with a lazy half grin.   
  
Willow jumped off her chair and bee lined towards the computers at the far end of the library. He was fascinated about how quickly the girl could actually boot the computer up.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Well if the demon was the one Giles and Willow talked about, they would be alright. But if he was right, Buffy and Xander were in big trouble. Assuming that this was the creature, then if the two died from the sickness, they'd be sent straight to Hell. That wasn't a good thought. Also there seemed to only be one way to restore the two's health. Of course the book didn't put in the spell, but they referenced it to another book. He was almost positive Giles had the book.  
  
"Hey Giles, might have found it." Oz called towards the librarian's office.  
  
"Willow go see if what he found is indeed the demon." Giles commanded without moving from his desk. Willow obediently got up and went over to the book cage. She took one look at the demon and nodded.  
  
"Hey we got it and it's not pretty." Oz said standing up and heading to the middle of the room where Giles met him with another book in hand. He looked at it and mumbled something that sounded like 'good lord'. "There's only one way to cure the virus that the demon gave them. It's in another book called Dark Age Cures."  
  
Giles seemed to think about the name and then snapped his fingers. "Yes, I do believe I have that book."  
  
"You might want to hurry. Once infected, a normal person doesn't live past a week after first contact. It's been three days. If the person dies from the sickness, their soul gets sent to Hell. In fact that's why they get sick. Cause they're half here and half being pulled into Hell." Oz said looking to see if their fearless leader had any ideas. Looking at his expression, they were in a lot of trouble.  
  
"Alright, I'll go search in the stacks to see if I can find it. What page?"  
  
"467."  
  
Coming up:  
"Hey look it's Willow." Xander grinned. His voice sounded weak and tired.  
  
"Yeah, how are you feeling?" She went over and sat on one of the chairs next to his bed. To see him was a relief, she didn't like it when her friends were in the hospital and she had quite the imagination when it came to health problems.  
  
Xander shrugged. "I'm feeling a little better. They got my temperature down. So you said over the phone that you know what's wrong with me and Buff and a few other patients?" 


	8. Going From Bad to Worse

Okay, I know it takes a bit of time to write in a review, but please do. I'd like to hear some feedback. Thanks peps! Peace out.  
  
  
  
See the Light  
  
Another morning. She hadn't gotten much rest since she checked in on her daughter every once in a while throughout the night. Buffy seemed to be getting a little better, but not enough to get Joyce to stop worrying.  
  
Filling a glass with apple juice and putting the almost burnt toast onto a plate, Joyce headed upstairs. She hoped Buffy would be at least a little hungry. If her daughter was hungry, then Joyce would go off to work, if not... well she'd stay home and maybe watch some movies with her.  
  
Since her hands were full, she used her foot to open the door. Inside her daughter looked half awake. Her eyes barely open, breathing a little harder then usual. "How are you doing this morning?"  
  
Her daughter looked up at her with a half made smile and then looked away. "Okay."  
  
"Let me check your temperature." Joyce told her putting her hand on her daughter's forehead. Her forehead felt way too hot. "Buffy, honey. Really tell me."  
  
"I'm hot." Buffy told her.  
  
Joyce sighed and put the tray down on the floor. She went to the bathroom and wet a wash towel with cold water. Nope, she wasn't going to work today. She'd call Mrs. Johnson to tell her to take care of the gallery. Going back to her daughter's room, she place the wash cloth onto Buffy's forehead.  
  
"Look, I'm going to call Mrs. Johnson to tell her I'm not coming in. Do you need anything before I go?" Joyce asked looking at her daughter. She was pale and trembling. Trembling was not a good sign.  
  
"Nah." The girl replied closing her eyes.  
  
"Alright, call if you need anything." Joyce sighed taking one more look at her sick angel and then headed downstairs to call the gallery.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Hey Xander." Willow grinned coming into his room. His skin was pale, but other then that, he looked mostly like himself. Well as much as he could with a hospital gown and tubes.  
  
"Hey look it's Willow." Xander grinned. His voice sounded weak and tired.  
  
"Yeah, how are you feeling?" She went over and sat on one of the chairs next to his bed. To see him was a relief, she didn't like it when her friends were in the hospital and she had quite the imagination when it came to health problems.  
  
Xander shrugged. "I'm feeling a little better. They got my temperature down. So you said over the phone that you know what's wrong with me and Buff and a few other patients?"  
  
Willow nodded and opened the book that she had brought in. Then she pointed to the picture and he sighed.  
  
"So it's demon related?" he asked looking at the scratch on his arm. It hadn't healed at all. In fact it had turned purplish blue.  
  
"Yeah, Giles and Oz are looking over some stuff...book type stuff. They're looking over a spell that will counteract the spell." No she wasn't going to tell him all the details because she figured he'd freak out. She felt like freaking out, no point to have him join the freaking out train.  
  
"Good, great... wonderful." Xander smiled half-heartedly. "So how is Buffy?"  
  
It was Willow's turn to shrug. She wasn't sure since she was afraid to call. "Actually I was planning to head to her house later on and see how she was doing. Like I said earlier, I called at one and she wasn't too happy. I'm not even sure why I called her. I guess I needed her to convince me you weren't dying. She did. So I guess I got what I wanted."  
  
"Ahhhh. Yes, Slayer wisdom." Xander cracked making Willow laugh.  
  
* * * * *  
  
After leaving the hospital, she felt much much better. Xander was okay which probable meant Buffy was okay. She was the Slayer after all and if anyone could fight off this poison, well, she could. But Oz and Giles elected that Willow tell Buffy everything. That wasn't going to be so easy.  
  
She knocked on the door of the Summers' residence. There was a sound of a lock clicking and then the door slowly opened. Joyce look very tired and very worried. Not that the woman ever looked not worried, but she did look tired. The woman gave her a smile and waved her in.  
  
"How's Buffy?" Willow asked quietly.  
  
"Oh... well. She asked me not to come in her room so often. I believe she's sleeping right now. I heard about Xander." Joyce replied.  
  
"I kinda need to talk to her. Is that okay?" Willow looked towards the stairs and then back at Joyce. The woman nodded and went back into the living room to sit with her coffee.  
  
Taking the stairs two at a time, she knocked on Buffy's door. Nobody answered. Now it was time to figure if she should wake Buffy and tell her the bad news or go back to Giles's place and tell him that Buffy was asleep. She figured that the info that she had to tell the Slayer was more important then sleep.  
  
So she slowly opened the door. The covers hid most of her friend. Only her head was visible. Buffy's skin looked pale, paler then Xander's. She was, of course, asleep.  
  
"Buffy?" Willow asked loudly. The girl didn't stir. So Willow decided it was time to do the shake thing. She gently tried to shake Buffy awake. And that was when she panicked. "Mrs. Summmerssss!"  
  
Loud footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs. Joyce flew through the door and looked at Willow. "What's wrong?"  
  
"She's not waking up."  
  
"Oh my God."  
  
Coming up:  
  
Cordiela looked over at Xander who now had a small grin on his lips. His eyes were slightly open. "Hey Cordy."   
  
She huffed and rolled her eyes. "Now how did both of you get sick?"  
  
"Demon." Xander whispered tiredly. 


	9. Gone to Hell

Okay, I know it takes a bit of time to write in a review, but please do. I'd like to hear some feedback. Thanks peps! Peace out.  
  
  
  
See the Light  
  
It would be kind of interesting if the person wasn't his friend. At twelve o'clock, Buffy Summers was emitted to ICU. The doctors rushed around her frantic to keep her stabilized. He saw Joyce, Buffy's mother, sitting on the side, watching with fear in her eyes. Yeah, they waited too long for Buffy to come to the hospital. Then he remembered how she hated the hospital and how she was probable too stubborn to admit she was really sick.  
  
They had her right next to his bed, which meant he saw way too much. He got to see them putting the IV in and a breathing tube into her mouth. That was not what he remembered on ER. No, in fact, it wasn't even close.   
  
With a groan, Xander closed his eyes trying not to notice that his friend maybe dying...  
  
* * * * *  
  
Cordiela knew what she had to do... But she didn't want to. Yeah Xander was her ex, so she had to at least see if he was alive. She didn't try to talk to any of the others, she went straight to the hospital.  
  
The Secretary outside of the ICU said that she couldn't enter. She smiled, Xander was her boyfriend. They nodded and let her in without further questioning.   
  
The ICU was a large room. In the middle of the room sat the nurses station and near the walls, patients who were either on the verge of dying or were in serious condition lay in a neat little line. Hospitals freaked her out.  
  
"Hi, I'm Cordiela Chase. I was wondering where Xander Harris is located." Cordiela said with sincerity to the closest nurse. The woman was short and had bleach blond hair.   
  
"Who? We don't have a Xander here." The woman replied. Then it struck her, most places that took in patients used the person's birth name.  
  
"Oh, I mean Alexander Harris." Cordiela replied quickly. It was like a light bulb turned on in the woman's head and she pointed to the other side of the room. "Thank you."  
  
Then she stormed towards Xander's bed. No she wasn't going to stay long at all, just enough time to see if he was okay. As she got closer, she noticed a woman sitting at the bed beside Xander's. She looked so familiar. Was that Buffy's mom?  
  
She looked towards the bed and saw a girl in the bed. Her blond hair was spread out on the pillow and the covers seemed to envelop her. Cordiela stopped and sighed. So Buffy was here too. She began to wonder if what they had was contagious. But if it was, they wouldn't be in the same room as the crash patients.  
  
Then she put her attention back over to Xander who seemed to be sleeping at the moment. He had a few less tubes then the almighty Slayer did, which in her opinion, seemed strange.   
  
"Oh Cordiela." Buffy's mother said looking up at her. Cordiela smiled and waved.  
  
"How are they?" Cordiela asked making Joyce frown in concern.  
  
"Xander's doing okay, I think... Buffy, well... I don't know." Joyce replied holding onto Buffy's hand. The girl was definitely not awake, nor did it look like anyone would be able to wake her up.   
  
Cordiela looked over at Xander who now had a small grin on his lips. His eyes were slightly open. "Hey Cordy."   
  
She huffed and rolled her eyes. "Now how did both of you get sick?"  
  
"Demon." Xander whispered tiredly.  
  
"It's always demons." Cordiela sighed.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Time did not exist... It felt so weird. So dark...So hot. In the background, far away, she heard painful screams and crying that tore the soul to pieces. Where was she?  
  
Then, out of nowhere, Xander appeared. He seemed as bewildered as she.  
  
"Xander?" she called out. He slowly turned towards her and smiled.  
  
"You're okay." Then he frowned. "Where are we?"  
  
Buffy shrugged and looked around. It was too dark to see where they were. The screaming and crying became louder and more painful. Almost like nails on a chalk board. Enough to make your ear drums panic. Xander seemed to notice the horrendous sounds and put his hands over his ears.  
  
"Last time I remember, I was in my room. Why are you here with me and why am I not in my room?" Buffy asked more to herself then Xander.  
  
"No, you were taken to the hospital. ICU. But I don't understand why I'm here. A few seconds ago I was talking to Cordy." Xander replied. Then he started fading.  
  
"Where are you going?" Buffy asked now letting into her fear. Yeah bravery had left the building and she couldn't be left here alone. Then he was gone and she started to cry. The voices were so loud, so painfully loud.  
  
Coming Up:  
  
Was she going crazy? Now she fell back into the hospital. The light was almost too bright. Cordiela lay half asleep on a chair and Xander sat up in his bed as if he were too scared to fall asleep.  
  
Looking over her skin to make sure that it was all a horrible, terrible, oh so real, nightmare, Buffy slowly tried to regain the confidence she usually had. Her head felt better, which was a definite plus...   
  
__________________Review Please__________ 


	10. Soul

Note: Angel will be coming in soon, so don't worry. The Faith, Trick, Mayor problem has been pushed aside because of this problem, so you wont hear anything about. Let's just say the story took a time out on that joint. Hope you like this Chapter.  
  
  
See the Light  
  
Xander opened his eyes. Where the heck had he gone? First he was talking to Cordiela, then he had found himself somewhere else with Buffy. He didn't like that place. And now he returned to the hospital.  
  
"Xander, are you alright?" Cordiela asked concerned. "You zoned out on us."  
  
"Where's Buffy?" He asked now looking around freaked. Buffy was, of course, where she had been all this time, next to his bed. "Good God I had a bad dream."  
  
He heard somebody cried out. It was Buffy, she sat straight up out of her bed surprising everyone. Cordiela seemed to jump a mile high into the ceiling while Joyce turned white. He would have stayed cool... except that since his nerves were already jarred, it didn't take much for him to jump.  
  
"Bu...Buffy." Joyce stumbled as the Slayer started looking around. Buffy looked freaked, yup he was sure that they had shared the same dream and she was as freaked out as he was. "Are you alright?"  
  
Slowly she gained her composure and nodded to her mother. "Just a... bad dream." Her voice sounded hollow and rumbled from having a tube in her throat earlier this morning.  
  
Joyce nodded and kissed her daughter on the forehead.   
  
"Hey Ms. Summers, if you want a break, I can sit with these two." Cordiela offered. Yeah, Cordiela could be great when it came to something really serious. Although she would never admit to it. Joyce considered this offer and then shook her head.  
  
The world started spinning again. It was like riding on the Tea Cup ride in Disney World only you're not moving. He wanted to vomit, but nothing came. He hadn't eaten in a while, so he had no fuel.   
  
"Oh no Cordiela. I'm alright." Ms. Summers replied.   
  
Buffy put her hand on her mothers and looked at her with a small smile as if to make whatever she was going to say sound like the truth. "Mom, you haven't eaten. You should go. We'll be okay. Wont we Xander?"  
  
"Uhh... Yeah." Xander replied trying his best to keep the world still for a minute. Failing to do that, he closed his eyes. Only problem was that darkness made it even worse. "Yeah dandy."  
  
Joyce seemed to resist and then let out a sigh. "Alright, but I'll be back in a minute."  
  
Buffy's mother took another long look at them both and then headed out leaving them in Cordiela's care. He wasn't sure if that was good or not. But at least Buffy seemed to relax.  
  
Cordiela sat down in a chair set between the two beds and seemed very uncomfortable. In fact the only one who wasn't uncomfortable was Buffy. She didn't seem to mind Cordiela's presence. He wouldn't either if she didn't hate him so much.  
  
"Okay, none of you throw up or anything." Cordiela said.  
  
Xander rolled his eyes. "Is that all you can think about?"  
  
"Well, I just don't want to clean it up." Cordiela replied flipping her hair off her shoulder as if to say it'd ruin her reputation.  
  
"Would you both stop bickering?" Buffy growled. "My God for once just get along. There's something very wrong. That place... I need to talk to Giles."   
  
And with that, the Slayer started to get out of bed. Cordiela panicked. "Buffy, stay in bed..."  
  
"I'm..." the blond girl replied and slipped to the ground. If that had been him and if he felt better, he'd be embarrassed. The tough Slayer didn't get up though. He didn't even think she was conscious.  
  
Cordiela quickly ran to the other side, trying to get Buffy back in bed before the nurses noticed. It was a struggle, but surprisingly, the thick headed girl did it succeed and Buffy lay back in her bed. Well her body, at least. He didn't know where her mind went off to.  
  
* * * * *  
  
It was awful, it felt like her skin was on fire and burning. The screams, the terrible screams. The dark ate her alive and not even her Slayer strength could help her here. No, now she was stuck in some dark place that seemed to burn her body and soul. Luckily Xander hadn't shown up.  
  
And then suddenly it all went away. The screaming... The heat... She could hear a steady beeping sound of a monitor nearby. Was she going crazy? Now she fell back into the hospital. The light was almost too bright. Cordiela lay half asleep on a chair and Xander sat up in his bed as if he were too scared to fall asleep.  
  
Looking over her skin to make sure that it was all a horrible, terrible, oh so real, nightmare, Buffy slowly tried to regain the confidence she usually had. Her head felt better, which was a definite plus... But where in the world was her mother? It wasn't like she had gone to go to Venice or anything.  
  
"You awake?" Xander asked looking over at her. She nodded. "Good cause now I can talk to someone that can tell me why the hell we had the same dream and why the hell it felt so real."  
  
"I'm as baffled as you Xander." Buffy replied caughing. "Cordiela?"  
  
The brunette shot up in her seat and looked around sheepishly. She looked over towards Xander and then at Buffy. "I'm up, I'm up."  
  
"Cordiela, you need to..." Buffy started but started a coughing fit. A few seconds later, she cleared her throat and shrugged off the two's concern. "Look, you need to get Giles and tell him to come in. I really need to talk to him. He's my English Uncle remember?"  
  
Cordiela wasn't quick on the uptake and looked at Buffy strangely. A sudden light bulb turned on and Cordiela snapped her fingers. "Oooohhh. Yeah, Uncle... Got it."  
  
Coming Up:  
  
"Giles, I'm sick. I have less tolerance for boring stories. Spit it out." Buffy said impatiently, irritated at his narration.  
  
Nodding, he got right to the point. "This magic sends the soul to Hell."  
  
"Oh." Buffy breathed.  
  
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	11. Colors

Note: For all Angel fans, he's coming in soon. I couldn't make this a X/B lover thing because I thought that it woulc sound a lot better as a close friendship then a love thing. But their friendship becomes stronger through the story to the kind that you notice in the show. Maybe more so. Im really sorry to all the people who hoped it would be a love relationship, but you will like the ending. I also tried to make the chapter longer for all of you who don't like short chapters. I think the next one is going to be even longer. Thanks for all the reviews and oh, forgot. Buffy seems to be getting worse, but that's only cause she didn't go to the hospital as soon as Xander. Also she's trying to exert more energy, which isn't helping. But don't worry, in the end, you will see that she will turn out to be the strongest. Peace out and hope you have a good one!  
  
PS: just a reminder, not mine, never was, never will be. I wouldn't be writting fanfictions cause my stories would actually be in the show. Which would definitely be cool. But oh well. So please don't sue me. I have no money and am not getting any money from the story. Only the demon is mine. Oh and the story. Which ya know, cool. Aight, now that I've stated this in the worst fashion as possible, enjoy the story. I come out with a new chapter everyday. In about less then a week, it will be done and hey, already started on a new story, so stay tuned!  
  
*****************************************************  
See the Light  
  
Giles took a deep breath and walked slowly into the ICU. It seemed so loud compared to the library. Monitors beeping, people crying... even some yelling and cursing. Some how the nurses already knew he had planned to make a visit and something about him being an uncle. He wasn't sure, but he did need to talk to Buffy. She probable had no clue what was going on. He had only a few more days to actually kill this beast.  
  
The two teens lie in one of the corners of the room. Cordiela sat in a chair between the two and Joyce was no where to be seen, which meant he wouldn't have to be careful about what he said. Although Mrs. Summers knew that Buffy was a Slayer, she still couldn't really grasp what her daughter really was and what her duties really meant. She didn't seem to like him all too much, so he tried to keep her knowledge of what was going on down to a minimum.  
  
"Ah Buffy, Xander." Giles nodded to the two teens. Both had a pained, exhausted expression on their faces. Buffy smiled a little and nodded back at Giles.  
  
"Glad you could make it." Buffy replied with a quiet raspy voice.  
  
"Yes." He nodded and sat in an empty chair beside Cordiela. He would have to keep his voice down since there were nurses everywhere. "I do need to talk to you about something that is quite important."  
  
The Slayer tilted her head to one side and sighed. "About the recent hospital deaths, about the big monster tearing people up, or about my horrible dreams that seem to be shared with Xander?"  
  
"Ewww, you and Xander are having the same dreams?" Cordiela squealed. Buffy rolled her eyes and then coughed. "What? It's just kind of... ewww."  
  
"Please, at this moment, keep your comments to yourself, Cordiela. What we are dealing with is something inconceivable." Giles told her running out of patience.  
  
"Giles, have you forgotten that we live on the Hellmouth?" Xander asked. He too had a voice that sounded like gravel rubbing against his vocal cords. The two looked as though they had some kind of flu. But he knew better then that.  
  
"That is true, but I believe that all of the above is very much related." Giles replied taking off his glasses and cleaning them. Buffy took this in quietly and Xander looked as if he didn't want to hear this.  
  
Xander opened his mouth but then shut it as if he thought better then to say that what Giles was suggesting, was idiotic. Buffy broke the thickening silence. "Cordy told you about the dream right?" Giles nodded. "So are you saying that this demon can make people sick and gives people bad dreams and that kills them?"  
  
"Well generally yes."   
  
"Okay, I have two..." She coughed making her face red and then cleared her throat with a small wince. "...major problems with this theory. Problem one, why isn't Willow sick and problem two, how come we find a lot of people torn up on the street? What did this guy just lose, his cool and decide waiting for them to die took to long?"  
  
"Willow didn't get sick because she had no blood contact with the demons claws. The demon has a magical poison that is contained inside it's claws." Giles replied wondering if he should actually tell her the rest. Buffy seemed to notice his hesitation.  
  
"Alright Giles, you're not telling me the whole truth and nothing but the truth." Buffy said rubbing her forehead with her hand.  
  
Xander grinned. "So help you God?"  
  
"Spill Giles, nobody likes a babbling Hugh Grant." She told him.  
  
"Xander, you are on the right track." Giles explained. Buffy raised an eyebrow reminding him that the Slayer had some sort of ADHD type disorder and liked things straight up and to the point. "The poison is a sort of black magic that can be traced back to the ancient Egyptians. One of the Emperors, I'm not quite sure who, had his magician create a spell so that he could punish all that betrayed him..."  
  
"Giles, I'm sick. I have less tolerance for boring stories. Spit it out." Buffy said impatiently, irritated at his narration.  
  
Nodding, he got right to the point. "This magic sends the soul to Hell."  
  
"Oh." Buffy breathed.  
  
"It takes quite a few days for the soul to actually transfer to Hell. I am afraid that the dreams are very real. The fever and flu symptoms are your bodies way of trying to fight the pull that the magic is doing on your souls. But after awhile the body can only do so much before it shuts down." Giles looked down and then back at Buffy. She bit her lower lip and looked over at Xander who seemed to show more fright then the Slayer. She seemed to resolve her own issues quickly and went on to worry about Xander.  
  
"So, can you reverse this?" Buffy asked quietly. Cordiela looked as though she was about to freak out or just lie down and go into a comatose like state. Giles knew the girl loved Xander even though he had cheated on her.  
  
Giles nodded. "Yes."  
  
"So we just kill the bastard, right?" Cordiela asked, her voice uneven.  
  
"It is not quite that easy. We must kill it, get it's blood and make a potion. Willow is working on the parts of the potion at the very moment. We will head out tonight." Giles replied running his hands through his hair.  
  
"You're going to need Angel's help." Buffy replied looking straight at Giles. "The demon moves faster then any human could ever move. It moves faster then me. It does the hit and run thing."  
  
"Yes, I am afraid you are quite right." Giles agreed.  
  
* * * * *  
  
She could hear her heart rate going so fast that it sounded like she had just finished the Boston Marathon. No, she wasn't ready to die, not now at least. She had already died once and once was enough for one high school experience.   
  
But she was worried more about Xander. She could fight for a long time, she was sure of it. But Xander, he wasn't made for that. He may have seen some horrible things, but he was just a human. Angel, he had come back like a beast. Too afraid to be touched. Xander was too afraid to go to sleep for fear of returning to that hell like place.  
  
Giles sat nervously in front of them trying to calm Cordiela down. Xander sat up in his bed in silence. Her mother hadn't returned from lunch, which was probable a good thing. Right now she, the Slayer, would have to cope and try to get their spirits up. It would be the only way for Xander to survive. His temperature had gone up to one hundred and four and was still slowly rising.  
  
"I fear no colors." Buffy talked quietly to herself and smiled a bit, making all of them look at her.  
  
"What?" Cordiela asked pulling back her hair.  
  
"That was from that book... We talked about it in class a few days ago. What was it?" Xander snapped his fingers trying to recall the title. At least she had gotten their minds on something different.  
  
"Twelfth Night." Buffy nodded. "Some goof ball called, like, Feast or something like that, said it. He was a clown or something."  
  
Giles frowned at her lack of Shakespearian knowledge. "Feste, he was a court jester."  
  
"Whatever. Means I don't fear the opponent. Some war term about how each country carried flags on the battle field." Buffy shrugged. So she wasn't the brightest, but she was learning something from English.   
  
"Quite right. If the opponent won, they place their flag pole into the ground in a show of victory." Giles agreed.  
  
"I just hate jesters, they're lame." Xander replied with a grin. "They do this happy feet thing and then juggle balls and stuff."  
  
"Look who's talking." Cordiela reminded him.  
  
He shrugged itching his arm. "So I do the happy feet thing, but juggling... No. They're like clowns. Scary."   
  
A small blond nurse came over to Giles with a fake smile. She tapped on his shoulder and he jumped. Buffy almost laughed, but she didn't. Right now she felt horrible and the room began to move at it's own accord. That wasn't fair. Did she ask for it to? No.  
  
"I am sorry to interrupt." She didn't look very sorry. "Visiting hours are up sir. You can come back to visit tomorrow at nine AM."  
  
Giles nodded. "Yes I will leave in just a moment."  
  
Her fake grin grew more fake as she walked away to bother the next family. This nurse definitely did not want to be here. Buffy silently agreed with the lady.  
  
"I must leave now... You two hang on. I will be back in the morning hopefully with the anti-virus." Giles said as he stood up and started to head out.  
  
"Giles?" Buffy called out.  
  
He turned. "Hmmm?"  
  
"Just be careful and hurry." Buffy smiled and started coughing. She covered her mouth and winced as the coughing became worse. After a minute it subsided and she lay back exhausted. Giles looked at her concerned and then headed out quickly. "You think praying will help?"  
  
It was meant to be a joke, but nobody laughed as she slipped out of consciousness. The screaming and crying came back to her again, but this time she actually knew where she was...  
  
Coming Up:  
  
One last look and Angel turned to head to the cemetery to meet Giles, Willow, and Oz. Hopefully they'd kill this demon and Xander and Buffy wouldn't have to suffer too much. He remembered what Hell had felt like. It was still like a raw sore, it still hurt to think about it.  
  
He'd kill this demon if it was the last thing he'd do.  
  
__________________Review Please_____________ 


	12. Closing In

Note: Alright, didn't mean to make Buffy sound dumber, it's kind of hard to rationalize while being sick. You can do some dumb things when you're sick. Hope you like this chapter.  
  
  
  
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See the Light  
  
Angel stood at the entrance of the ICU. He watched the two sleeping. Even from this far away, he could feel their pain. Yet Cordiela was oblivious of these feelings. She only worried about them. She knew not of what horrors the two might face...  
  
Whistler looked over at Angel. "She's gonna have it tough, that Slayer. She's just a kid. The world's full of big, bad things."   
  
* * * * *  
  
She was chained to two tall posts. She could only stand, the chains held on too tight to do anything else. Xander stood next to her in the same situation. He only wore black pants. She wore black pants and a black sleeveless shirt. She wasn't sure how she had gotten into them, last time she checked, she had been in a hospital gown.  
  
In front of her she saw a large pool of hot magma. It bubbled and roared, almost daring anyone to come close to the edge. They stood on a small rock like island. No water, just hot acid ready to eat them alive. The screams and cries became more and more real. She shivered and wanted to put her hands over her ears. In the distance she could see people chained in a line holding large stone hammers. They worked without thought. If they didn't do something correctly, some ugly underworld monster would come over and whip their backs. The people were bloody and bruised. This place, it reminded her of another place. Ken's dimension.   
  
Ken had said Hell was a place without hope. He was right. But she had plenty of hope. She had gotten out before, she'd do it again. Tugging on the chains did nothing but rub her wrists raw, she gave up on that approach.  
  
And then it came, something worse then she had ever faced before. His laugh made her want to run and hide. It didn't feel right, she was the Slayer. She wasn't suppose to be scared. They were suppose to be scared of her.  
  
Whistler sighed. "Bottom line is, even if you see 'em coming, you're not ready for the big moments. No one asks for their life to change, not really. But it does."   
  
* * * * *  
  
One last look and Angel turned to head to the cemetery to meet Giles, Willow, and Oz. Hopefully they'd kill this demon and Xander and Buffy wouldn't have to suffer too much. He remembered what Hell had felt like. It was still like a raw sore, it still hurt to think about it.  
  
He'd kill this demon if it was the last thing he'd do.  
  
Whistler grinned. "So what are we, helpless? Puppets? No. The big moments are gonna come. You can't help that. It's what you do afterwards that counts."   
  
* * * * *  
  
  
Lucifer grinned. The grin was made up of everything that was evil. He was the king of Hell itself. He was larger then any vampire, bigger then any demon, he was their Lord, their master, their god. Xander let out a small muffled cry. He was terrified, he wanted to run. The devil... was horrifying.  
  
"Welcome." it said with a voice that sounded like crackling flames and it laughed at their fear. Xander was sure Buffy had to be scared. He looked over to see that Buffy actually didn't look all that scared. In fact, she looked defiant.   
  
She was whispering something softly.  
  
"Blest be the Lord, the God of mercy, the God who saves." She whispered.  
  
"What are you going on about?" the demon king growled with anger. She wasn't showing the proper respect for him. Xander worried about what the beast would do. "No respect...? You will learn in time. You are never leaving... ha, Guard!"  
  
Xander turned his head and looked behind him. Suddenly, an ugly looking creature came out from the shadows. In his hand, he cradled a long whip. It snickered and threw the whip at Buffy's back. The whip snapped leaving a bloody gash on her back. She grimaced but kept whispering.  
  
"I shall not fear the dark of night... Nor the arrow that flies by day." she spoke a little louder. Now the king understood. She was praying.  
  
"You think that is going to save your soul?" it laughed.   
  
Another crack of the whip and Buffy let out a small cry. But she kept going.  
  
"I need not shrink before the terrors of the night, Nor stand alone before the light of day." Buffy said giving him a small dangerous smile. She knew she was making him angry. But Xander, nah he stayed silent. He didn't like inviting pain to his body.  
Suddenly an image of Cordiela falling into a pit flashed before him. She screamed at him to help, but he couldn't. Instead he cried for her. A laugh could be heard in the distance. Angel stood with his arms folded on his chest. He had his vamp face on.  
  
"You shall die." Angel growled with a blood thirsty smile.  
  
Suddenly he was snapped back to the rock place with Buffy who continued her prayer.  
  
"No harm shall come to me, no arrow strike me down," Buffy yelped in pain as another sound of whip cracking echoed against the stony walls of their firry prison. Xander looked past Lucifer and noticed people working away, ignoring what was going on now. Was he doomed to the same fate?  
  
"No evil settle in my soul." The Slayer told the devil.  
  
"You really think God can hear your prayers from down here in Hell?" the beast laughed. "I am the Lord of the underworld. Fear me mortal, for I am now your master. You can not be saved."  
  
Xander snapped to another scene. It was his fifth birthday... The clown...  
  
Whistler nodded to Angel. "That's when you find out who you are."  
  
Coming up:   
  
"Mmm. Slayers blood." it laughed.  
  
It brought it's fangs up and down her neck. When it pulled back, the vampire changed. It was Angel. He had his vamp face on, but it was him.  
  
"My love." He grinned.  
  
"Angel..." Buffy cried.  
  
__________________Review Please_____________ 


	13. Getting Out

Note: Okay, because of all the complaints, I changed this chapter and the one after. Made Xander a bit more defiant. But I don't agree that he is braver than Buffy. I think their brave in their own way. So this is for all the Xander fans and I hope you take the time to read it.  
  
PS: THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS, KEEP THEM COMING. AS YOU CAN SEE, I TAKE THEM INTO CONSIDERATION AND ANYTHING WILL HELP.  
  
  
*****************************************************  
See the Light  
  
Willow put the solution into a small bottle and turned off the Brunson burner. Giles nodded with a determined look on his face. Oz stood in the corner of the library, collecting weapons that he thought they'd need. Now all they had to do was kill the demon.  
  
"You know what?" Willow said just figuring out something.  
  
"Hmm?" Giles asked now drowned in his own thought.  
  
"I just figured why the demon didn't touch me." Willow sighed. Giles rose an eyebrow. "I had just finished with a chemistry experiment. That demon doesn't like sulfur."  
  
Giles smiled a bit. "And sulfur is in that potion. It neutralizes him."  
  
"So we could just pour it on him and we wont be sent to hell." Willow grinned.  
  
"Yes... Yes..." Giles snapped his fingers. "Willow, put a bag of sulfur in with the weapons."  
  
Willow nodded proudly heading back to the Chem Lab.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Blood flowed down her back. She was battered and bruised. Every few minutes she'd be snapped out of this dimension and would be attacked by a horde of vampires. A couple of times they'd kill her. It was always a painful death. Each time it shook her so bad she could barely remember that giving up would condemn her to Hell for an eternity. That was definitely not she wanted after risking her life to save others. That couldn't be her reward.  
  
She glanced over at Xander, who lay limply in his chains, his eyes glazed with fear and terror. But he had a small grin on his face, as if trusting that she had a plan.   
  
He looked over with almost a half crazed smile. With a voice just over a mumble, he said, "Gunna take a lot more to take us down."  
  
She agreed, yet had no real plan. Not yet at least. But she was glad Xander had faith that they would get out. She trusted that instinct, she just hoped it wasn't too late.  
  
Again she snapped back to standing at a all too familiar cemetery. Vampires came from every direction. She flew onto her back and couldn't get up. Three vampires held her down while another male started licking her neck.  
  
"Mmm. Slayers blood." it laughed.  
  
It brought it's fangs up and down her neck. When it pulled back, the vampire changed. It was Angel. He had his vamp face on, but it was him.  
  
"My love." He grinned.  
  
"Angel..." Buffy cried.  
  
Then he leaned towards her and bit her neck. The other vampires joined in the feeding from her wrists and legs. The pain enveloped her...  
  
* * * * *  
  
Angel flew to the ground and grunted when his head hit a grave head stone. The demon growled at him. Giles and Willow said he was now neutered and couldn't send anyone else to hell... Which was a good thing.  
  
Giles was the last to hit the ground with a yelp. He still held the sword in his hands. This demon was pissed and wasn't about to run now. He wanted all four of them dead. So far, Angel hadn't noticed any weak spots. It didn't look good.  
  
Buffy looked at him with those sad eyes. "Strong is fighting! It's hard, and it's painful, and it's every day. It's what we have to do. And we can do it together.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Xander whimpered softely, the pain was almost too much to bare. Almost. "That all ya got?" he spat. The coppery taste of blood formed in his mouth and he spit it out.  
  
He looked over at Buffy who stared vacantly into the Hell fires. There was a pool of blood collecting by her feet. The lashes on her back weren't closing up or healing. They just stayed painfully open. Every once in awhile another crack sounded, getting lost in the sounds of hopeless cries of terror.   
  
But he knew one thing, he'd fight it with every ounce of his being. The last thing he wanted was to be stuck in Hell for eternity and he was pretty sure Buffy agreed with him on that one.  
  
"Do you give up? Or would you like more?" it asked with a pleased smile.   
  
He saw the Slayer come out of whatever mind tricks he played and lifted her head up to smile. It was a smile that came whenever she got really pissed. A smile that Xander took comfort in, because it meant she had a plan. Either that, or she had gone crazy. He hoped door number one.  
  
"You kidding?" Xander huffed in defiance. "Seen much harsher torture then you."  
  
Buffy looked at him and nodded in agreement. Then she looked at the devil, her face showed no fear as she began saying, "I am Buffy Anne Summers the Vampire Slayer. "I defy you and all that lives beneath. You can not touch me. You are below my league."   
  
The defiant words came from one of Giles's old books. Xander remembered hearing the librarian say it while they were catured by the Wild Hunt. It hadn't turned out all that good, in fact it almost got them killed.  
  
He watched as anger grew inside the beast. It roared in anger. Suddenly, the Slayer caught on fire.   
  
* * * * *  
  
Joyce put her head in her hands and cried. Both were dead. They died within seconds of each other. How could this happen? Her daughter was suppose to be strong. She never got sick. Never.  
  
The nurse pulled the sheet over the two heads and let Joyce have time alone with her daughter. Cordiela hung over Xander, sobbing and cursing.   
  
(2:15 am, October 2nd, 1998, Buffy Anne Summers   
and Alexander LaVelle Harris die of unknown causes.)  
  
Oz ducked the creatures punch and then did his best to kick it in the leg. The demon, not fazed, reached to grab Oz and tear his head off. He liked his head, especially when it had a body under it. He wanted to keep it that way. Ducking, he took a swing with the machete that Giles had lent him. It just bounced off the demon's slimy skin.  
  
The demon growled in annoyance and back handed Oz in the face. He felt his check give as he flew twenty feet away. This demon seemed invincible. Angel even seemed puzzled at what to do. Buffy and Xander needed them to kill the demon, that was going to be one hard task. But he figured after all the times Buffy had saved them all, she deserved their help... even if it was going to get them killed.  
  
  
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	14. Saved

Note: Not much changed here.  
  
******************************************************  
  
See the Light  
  
She saw her body fading and the demon growled at her. It was working. She grinned at the beast and then looked over at Xander. "Xander fight it. Copy me. I'm fading."  
  
Xander looked at her unsure, not wanting to turn into a living flame. She understood well, but it worked.  
  
"Do it Xander." She screamed at him then everything disappeared. There were only two people sobbing now as she gasped for breath. Had she died or was it just that her heart beat so loudly that it drummed in her ears a second after she took a deep breath?  
  
Something lay on her face. She pulled it down off her face and looked over at her mother. Joyce looked at the monitor shaking her head as if some miracle just happened. She heard Xander take in a deep breath. Had they really been dead?  
  
"Mom?" Buffy asked. A sudden strength flew threw her. She knew what she had to do. She had to kill this demon before she lost her strength. Her mother turned towards her. She looked as though she was looking at a ghost.  
  
"Bu...Buf... no, this is a dream." Joyce looked down at a piece of paper in her hand.  
  
She didn't have time for this. Looking around to make sure none of the nurses were watching, she tore the IV out and pulled off all the monitors. "Shhhh." Buffy told her looking over at Xander.  
  
"Honey, no." Joyce cried getting up but Buffy was out of bed before her mother could do anything.  
  
"Mom, I have to... Just make sure the nurses don't notice. I'll... I'll be back." Buffy told her quickly pulling up her pants and putting on a shirt. Tarring off the gown, she quickly did another scan of the ICU. She felt a little woozy, but this is what she had to do... "Cordiela...Take care of Xander. Make sure he doesn't go to sleep."  
  
Cordiela nodded and Buffy ran out of the room as Joyce sobbed.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Giles groaned. Everything hurt, especially his head from the last hit he had taken in the gut sending him into a grave marker. He couldn't move anymore. Angel was the only one who seemed mobile at the moment. Willow sat in the car waiting to do the incantation... If they could kill the bastard.  
  
Looking up, he saw Angel fly into a tree. This time he didn't get up. All three were down on the ground and none of them were willing or even able to get up.  
  
A twig snapped behind the demon making everyone turn and look. The demon spun around with a deep growl. Didn't he tell Willow to stay in the car.  
  
"Gee, I wasn't invited to the party?" Buffy asked in a fighting stance. He wasn't sure if he what he saw was a hallucination or if somehow Buffy had miraculously cured herself. "See, I have this big ol' problem, I don't like it when people don't invite me to their parties. In fact, I get quite cranky. Guess I'm selfish. Oh and plus, you just give me major wiggins."  
  
The demon roared in anger, running straight towards her. She took a step back as if scared. Taking the bait, the demon seemed to smile and run even faster. Then the Slayer spun away, letting the beast run into one of the grave markers. For the first time that night, the demon stumbled to the ground dazed.  
  
It was definitely Buffy.  
  
"What are you doing out of bed?" Giles asked slowly sitting up. The demon stumbled to it's feet. What the bloody hell would Joyce do to him if she found out her daughter was not in bed in the hospital? Buffy walked slowly towards a sword on the ground. It was his best double bladed sword and was made of heavy metal. She kicked it up to her hand as if it were a one of those dreadful skateboards Xander had once loved to ride.  
  
"Decided to kick some demon butt." she replied with a stiff smile and then turned to the demon that lunged after her.  
  
Suddenly she seemed to lose focus and the demon crashed into her. She flew into a tree. The sword landed right beside her. Angel made another attempt to stop the demon, but it swatted him away like a fly. It was very focused on killing Buffy.  
  
Before the Slayer could stand up, the beast picked her up and threw her against Oz's van. Willow screamed as Buffy rolled down the windshield and to the street. The three horned Hell servant went after her again.   
  
This time Giles slowly stood up using the gravestone for support. Making his way to the sword laying next to the tree, he kept a close eye on the demon. Buffy got up, standing as the demon made it's way towards her. It laughed.  
  
"Your boss told me you're fired." Buffy spat at him as he lunged at her. She ducked and it ran into the van leaving a large dent on the hood of the car. "And what's with you evil guys and laughing anyway?"  
  
It growled at her and lunged again. She ducked and kicked the beast in the back, sending it over a large stone statue. The statue crumbled to pieces as the demon tried to get it's head out of the statues horse.  
  
"Giles sword." Buffy growled. He nodded and grabbed the sword. Using all his energy, he threw the sword towards her. She caught it in mid air and limped cautiously towards the beast. It's head stuck in the statue, Buffy growled, "Go to Hell. Tell the boss I send my regards."  
  
And with that she raised the sword and brought it down with all her strength. Nothing would ever be able to stay together in one piece with the power that she brought the sword down with. He could see all her fear and anger being used as the demon's head flew to the ground.   
  
Suddenly everything went silent. He could hear the a few dogs barking and cars racing by on the street. It felt like everything had gone back to normal... back to what could be taken as normal in Sunnydale.  
  
Buffy dropped the sword and dropped to her knees. Giles ran over to her as Oz and Angel got back on their feet. The Slayer looked at him blankly and then fell to the ground.   
  
"Giles? Is she alright?" Angel asked concerned.  
  
He slowly put his hand on her neck. She wasn't dead, but she wasn't going to survive very long.  
  
"Willow, get the blood and do the bloody spell. Angel, help me get her into the car. Hurry, we haven't got much time, who knows how Xander is holding up. God damn it, hurry." Giles said.  
  
Coming Up:  
  
Finally after a few long minutes, Buffy's eyes flew open as she gasped for breath. She nurse went into some shock of her own and fainted. The Slayer had the same confused look on her face.   
  
"Where am I?" she grumbled in pain. Angel smiled with relief. It'd be sunrise soon. He had to go home.  
  
______________Please Review_____________ 


	15. Alive

Note: Sorry it took so long to put the rest up. Got busy with school stuff. Hope you like them.  
  
PS: THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS, KEEP THEM COMING. AS YOU CAN SEE, I TAKE THEM INTO CONSIDERATION AND ANYTHING WILL HELP.  
  
  
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See the Light  
  
  
"Come on Xander, stay awake. You can't leave me okay?" Cordiela told him. Joyce sat quietly in shock. It was definitely a good thing Joyce wasn't part of the Slayerette brigade. She'd freak at everything... Also she'd probable stop Buffy from doing everything. Which with some things, could actually be a good thing. Like now for instance. Buffy had just gone on a suicide attempt while she had her energy back. Xander had that quick burst of energy, but that had faded quickly. Buffy was the Slayer, but she couldn't hold out forever.  
  
Xander had his eyes half closed and his heart rate had dropped dramatically again. His forehead was soaked with sweat. If she wasn't so worried, she'd be disgusted. But right now it was just time to keep him awake, like Buffy had told her to.  
  
"Xander, uh... Let's play a game." Cordiela smiled as brightly as she could.  
  
"What..." he caughed and looked even more exhausted. "...game?"  
  
"Uhm, the game where you stay awake." Cordiela replied.  
  
"Sounds...fun..." Xander nodded.  
  
"How can you be so calm?" Joyce asked freaked. "Buffy's gone, Xander is dying. My whole world is collapsing."  
  
That was it, Cordiela had had enough of Joyce's 'I need mucho help' routine. The lady needed a life. Where the hell did Buffy get her courage from? "Alright Mrs. Summers, I know you're freaked and now I can see why Buffy actually ran away."  
  
Joyce looked over at her confused. Rolling her eyes, Cordiela huffed. "Do I have to spell it out for you? You're over protective, you don't understand her. She's the Slayer. I agree that she shouldn't have gone, but I got over it. The girl does as she pleases. Get use to it. Even if she isn't the coolest girl or anything, she can handle herself. You got to get over it or you'll just push her away."  
  
"But she's my baby."  
  
* * * * *  
  
Angel quickly ran into the ICU unit. The only nurse in the room yelled at him as he put Buffy on the bed that she had been in a couple of hours ago. The brown haired nurse ran at him angry.  
  
"Who the hell do you think you are barging in here like that? If you have someone who needs care, take them to the ER. This is a hospital and we have rules." The nurse screamed at him.  
  
Buffy's mother ran to her and the whole room went into a state of anarchy. People cried and screamed while things got knocked to the floor.  
  
"Look lady, she was in here before. She escaped. Didn't you notice?" Angel asked with a harsh tone trying to make her sound like the bad person. It worked.  
  
She looked over to Buffy and looked wide eyed. "She's...she's alive."  
  
"Okay, so put the IV in." Angel growled.  
  
The nurse ran to her station trying to find her supplies. Angel walked over to Joyce and looked down at Buffy who struggled to breath. Behind him Xander lay in the same scenario. His monitor showed that he was dead so it didn't beep once he went into trouble again. The two wouldn't last very long. He was surprised Buffy had lived through the car ride.  
  
The nurse ran back over and started an IV running. She was about to run to the Nurses Station to get a doctor to come in, but Angel stopped her. "Don't. My friends are coming n with an anti-virus. They don't need doctors to get in their way."  
  
"Take your hands off me. The hospital has rules. When a patient is in trouble, the doctor comes. No amateurs allowed. This is a hospital, remember that." The lady replied with anger trying to throw him off. He kept a hold on her shoulder as Giles, Willow, and Oz charged through the double doors. "What, you're not allowed in here."  
  
"Keep that lady quiet. Oz go get a syringe. Hurry. Both of them are going into shock. Joyce, please move away." Giles shook a bottle in his hand. Joyce looked at him with anger but backed up, surprising them all.  
  
Oz ran back to Giles and gave him a syringe. Quickly opening the bottle, he inserted the syringe and headed to Xander's IV monitor. He sucked some solution into the syringe and inserted it into Xander's IV line. Doing the same thing to Buffy's, all of them watched for any sign of reaction.  
  
It took a few nerve racking seconds, but suddenly Xander's eyes went wide open and he cried out. Slowly his breathing went to normal as he looked around confused. "Where..." He cleared his throat. "Where am I?"  
  
Cordiela looked at Giles confused and then back at Xander. "The hospital. Don't you remember?"  
  
"Uh..." he tried to think.  
  
"I suppose he doesn't." Giles looked over to Buffy who was still struggling to breath. "At least not right now. He will recover."  
  
"What about my daughter Giles?" Joyce asked looking from him to Buffy. Why was it taking so long for her to react? "What's wrong with her?"  
  
"Patience, Mrs. Summers." Giles replied harshly and then seemed to want to take that back, but he kept his mouth shut.  
  
Finally after a few long minutes, Buffy's eyes flew open as she gasped for breath. She nurse went into some shock of her own and fainted. The Slayer had the same confused look on her face.   
  
"Where am I?" she grumbled in pain. Angel smiled with relief. It'd be sunrise soon. He had to go home.  
  
* * * * *   
  
"Hey Buffy." Willow smiled and then frowned. "Hey Buffy."  
  
"You said that twice." Buffy said with a stiff forced smile. She was on crutches and Xander held her backpack for her as the two made their way to lunch. Even with all her healing abilities, her shattered femur hadn't healed yet.   
  
"I suppose I did." Willow nodded. "Why are you back so soon? Not that I don't want you back... But I thought you might take a day off."  
  
Buffy nodded. "I did."  
  
"I meant a couple of days off." Willow corrected herself. Oz put a comforting hand on her shoulder as she tried to get everything she had said, straightened out. "You know, you deserve it."  
  
"Yeah, no rest for the wicked." Buffy replied sourly. "I need to sit. We can talk in the cafeteria. Is that okay?"  
  
"Yeah, we were heading there... because it's lunch time and all. That's what people do. They go eat lunch... in the cafeteria." Willow sighed. Following Buffy and Xander to the lunchroom, she entwined her fingers with Oz's.   
  
__________________Review Please_____________ 


	16. Silence

Note: Another chap. Hope you like it.  
  
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See the Light  
  
Two things he noticed. Xander's silence and the fake smiles Buffy put on to entertain Willow. He could tell they were hiding their feelings. Xander and Willow went to get their lunches as Buffy leaned her crutches against the table.  
  
"How you doing?" Oz asked. Buffy shrugged as he took a seat, placing his lunch bag in front of him.  
  
"Okay. I'm dealing. My leg is healing. It's all good." Buffy lied. He didn't push.  
  
"That's good." He replied taking a bite out of his sandwich. He chewed and swallowed. "Band's playing tonight, you guys should come. Could be a blast."  
  
She shook her head. "I think I just want to catch up on my sleep. Thanks though."  
  
He shrugged as Willow took a seat. Buffy put on a brave smile and waited for Willow to do more drilling. Xander sat next to Oz and Buffy. Taking an extra tray from under his, he started to divide the food into two piles. One for Buffy and one for him. No wise cracking came from his still lips. Oz figured they'd come around in time as long as Buffy didn't blow like she did last time. But he figured she had learned her lesson. Running away wasn't a good thing. Especially with great SAT scores.  
  
"So, Oz is playing tonight." Willow said nervously. All Willow wanted to do was make everything better. She didn't understand that they didn't want her to act so nervous around them. She also didn't understand that there was always time for silence. The Slayer liked silence. He wasn't sure why Xander stayed silent, he usually went all babbly like Willow. It made them a pair, a duo.  
  
"I already asked. I think both of them are too tired though." Oz nodded with understanding. He wasn't sure if they had been to Hell and if they had, what it was like. But he was sure they deserved a break. "Anyway, it's not like my show ever really changes."  
  
"Oh I like your shows." Willow grinned.  
  
"I'm not really hungry right now... I think I'm going to head over to the library." Buffy stood up. She threw her bag over her shoulder and picked the crutches up. Grabbing her tray, she slowly made her way to the trash can.  
  
"You want me to come and help?" Willow offered. Buffy smiled slightly.  
  
"Nah, I just need a little time to... go over something with Giles. Slayer-Watcher stuff. Thanks anyway." She waved and made her way out the cafeteria. Cordiela came with her troops and stopped in front of Buffy. Even he winced, wondering what Cordiela would do.  
  
Surprisingly, the brunette took Buffy's bag and headed out with her, leaving the troop behind. Now that was the most amazing thing he had seen in a while.   
  
"Wow, what's up with Cordiela?" Willow asked as surprised as he was.  
  
Oz turned back to his lunch and Willow who sat in shock.   
  
"Is this bad, she doesn't want me but she has Cordiela help her?" Willow asked confused.  
  
"I think she just needed time to herself." Xander nodded. Oz figured the guy would know. He gave them all credit. Even with their outer appearances, all could be pretty cool sometimes. Even Cordiela. "Which reminds me, I need to talk to my science teacher. I missed a test. Need to make it up. See you two later."  
  
Xander got up, nodded to them and went to the trash can to throw away his tray.  
  
"Is something wrong with me? None of my friends want to hang out with me anymore. All of them will barely even talk to me." Willow sighed. "Last night I called and I got one word out of Buffy and two words out of Xander."  
  
"Give 'em time. They'll come around." Oz assured her.  
  
* * * * *   
  
"Oh Buffy, you've returned to school. How is your... uh leg? Are you feeling better?" Giles asked closing the book in front of him and glancing up at her. She shrugged while sitting down and leaning her crutches onto the study table. He was relieved that she looked much better. Her color had come back and the scratches faded.  
  
"I'm holding up." She replied quietly.   
  
The girl had gone through a lot. More then any Slayer should have to. Buffy kept her connections instead of throwing them all away for the Slayer business. She still loved the people around her and that may be the reason why she had become quite an item in the Watcher's council. He wasn't even sure how she had managed stay sane for this long. All the pain and anguish that she had endured. Who knew what lay ahead of her, but he did know she would handle it no matter what.  
  
Giles put his hand on her shoulder. She was more then just a Slayer to him, in some sense, she was like his daughter. He wanted to shield her from the evil, but he couldn't. They both had duties they had to withhold.  
  
"Well that's very good." He nodded. "You do know that I am here for you... If you'd like to... uh... talk... that is."  
  
Buffy shrugged. "I'm okay. Handling very well. In fact, soon I'll get the cast off and probable be able to patrol next week. Don't worry."  
  
"Oh well, take as much time as you need." Giles told her as he headed over to the check out desk. He started to look over some of the papers on his desk. "Willow and Oz are helping me patrol."  
  
He looked up from the papers and noticed that Buffy wasn't paying attention. Her eyes gazed off into another place. A place he wouldn't be able to follow. For as long as he had known her, he knew that she wasn't much of talking about how she felt. In fact, that was probable why she was so miserable.  
  
Buffy was the Slayer. In the watchers council's eyes, she has had a great career. But the council sat on the other side of the world. They couldn't see how much she had endured to get here. Her silence spoke volumes.  
  
The bell rang snapping Buffy out of her daze. She looked over at him and gave a tight lipped smile. "Guess I better boogie to my next class. I'll probable go straight home, so I'll see you tomorrow. Okay?"  
  
"Ah yes, tomorrow."  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Hey Xander." Willow grinned as she sat down next to him. The Bronze was packed and the music played so loud people had to yell just to hear each other. Xander sat by himself looking at his empty plastic cup.  
  
He wasn't in the mood to talk, especially not to bright eyed, bushy-tailed Willow. It was hard enough to keep dreaming about what happened. Willow tried too hard to make everyone feel better. It didn't help. He wondered if that was how Angel felt when he got back.  
  
Instead of yelling at her, the way he wanted to get Willow off his back, he just kept staring at his cup hoping she'd get the hint. Instead she ignored it and smiled at Oz who played on stage. "How ya doing?"  
  
"There is a reason for my singleness and for my quietness. Can't you take a hint?" Xander growled impatiently. Willow looked at him hurt and then stood up.  
  
She looked at him. "Sorry." And then she walked towards the stage.  
  
Xander sighed and threw his cup down to the ground. Everybody asked how he was doing and of course he had to tell them he felt fine. If he didn't they would feel sorry for him. He didn't like that one bit. He didn't want to be like Lucy and look all helpless. That just wasn't him. How could he act okay if he wasn't?  
  
"You're going to drive yourself nuts if you push your friends away and don't talk to anyone." a voice came from the dark. He didn't even look up because he knew who it was.  
  
"Yeah well, better than having people ask if I'm okay every five seconds." Xander said as Angel sat on the couch next to him. The guy probable knew what he was talking about, but the guy was Angel. The guy he most despised and not just because he had swept Buffy off her feet. Oh no. The vampire had killed Jenny and tortured everyone else. "Buffy's not here."  
  
Angel shrugged as if he hadn't come here to look for her. "Wasn't looking for her."  
  
"Then what are you doing?" Xander asked. "I'm not looking for sympathy."  
  
"And I'm not looking to give any." Angel replied rubbing his hands together. "No matter how much you hate me, listen to me. You're going to lose friends if you act like this. People don't know how to act around you. Sure they don't know what you went through, but they want to help because they're your friends. Hell is harsh. It's a world without hope, without feeling. The world down there, time goes slowly. A day on Earth is like a hundred down there. I know all that, but you have to remember, you're alive. Be happy about that. Don't let this pull you down."  
  
"And where did the wise one learn this? From a crackerjack box?" Xander mumbled sarcastically.  
  
"No, you guys taught me that. Buffy taught me that. Whistler taught me that. That is the wisdom from living so long. Learn it fast, before everyone turns their back on you." Angel told him with a small smile. Xander wanted to pop him in the face. He knew the dead guy was right, but he wouldn't admit it.  
  
Angel got up and disappeared into the darkness without another word.  
  
  
  
______________Please Review_____________ 


	17. I See the Light

Note: Last chapter! Sorry for the delay. Thanks for the reviews. Check it out, Im coming with a new one soon. This chapter has the song from Celine Dion called "I see the Light" or something of that nature. Peace out and have a nice holiday. Look for my new story coming soon!  
  
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See the Light  
  
"Get away from me." Buffy yelled trying to punch the monster on top of her. The thing wasn't fazed and kept his hand on her throat. The lack of oxygen started to weaken her, but she couldn't do anything. The bodies of her friends displayed harshly in front of her. Their heads were displayed on sticks. Their eyes stared at her accusingly.  
  
The demon let go of her right before she fell unconscious. It kicked her in the gut as she gasped for breath. It's tail smacked across her face leaving deep bloody scratches from its spikes. It laughed horribly at her as she struggled to her feet...  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Buffy, honey, wake up." Joyce said shaking her daughter. Buffy sat up quickly, almost knocking her mother off the bed. Her daughter panted, eyes wide, filled with fear. "Buffy are you alright?"  
  
Buffy looked over at Joyce confused, but had calmed down a bit. "Yeah I'm fine, just a bad dream. What time is it?"  
  
"It's three in the morning. You cried out so loud I thought something was wrong." Joyce told her as she gently pushed her daughter's messy hair away from her eyes. This was the second night her daughter screamed throughout the night. Something was definitely up. Something her daughter didn't want to tell her and probable would never tell her. "Are you sure you're okay?"  
  
"Yeah. It was just a bad dream. I'm fine." Buffy reassured her with a small smile. But her eyes told a different story. They looked hollow and haunted. Joyce decided not to push. The books said not to push your teenager, so she'd follow their instructions. She didn't want her daughter running away again. In fact, that was the last thing she wanted.  
  
"Alright sweetie. I am going back to bed. Do you need anything before I go?"  
  
Buffy shook her head. "Nah, just some sleep."  
  
"Alright then... Good night." Joyce said getting up from the bed. She went out the door and closed it. For a few long minutes Joyce stared at the door. None of the books could help her deal with the Slayer issues. None of them told her what to do about how to help her daughter through near death experiences.  
  
She slowly made her way back to her room. As she started to close her door, she heard a quiet harsh sob. Joyce looked longingly at her daughter's door. She knew she shouldn't go back, her daughter wanted to be left alone. But it was so hard. She wanted to go to Buffy's room and just hold her. She wanted to make it all better again.  
  
Sighing sadly, Joyce went to her bed and laid down. She'd respect her daughter's wishes.  
  
* * * * *  
  
All the pain and anguish rushed out of her. Hot tears rushed down her face as she tried to keep herself under control. If she let go, she was afraid she'd never be able to bring herself back together. She didn't want anyone else to feel and know how bad she felt. It was hard, almost too hard, but she refrained from making everyone else miserable. She'd have to fess up soon though or else this demon she had inside her would eat her alive.  
  
This wasn't any demon, no... this one fed off fear and sadness. She wouldn't let it make her nuts. Looking over at the window, she figured Angel should be the first to tell. "I know you're there." she spoke softly. "You've been there for most of the night."  
  
"Sorry." Angel said apologetically.  
  
She wiped the tears from her face and smiled slightly. This time it come out with sincerity. Whenever Angel was around, she felt safe. Even if it tore her up inside to know they could never be.   
  
"How are you?" He asked going towards the bed. She moved over slightly so he could sit.  
  
"Not the best, but I'm dealing." Buffy nodded. She just couldn't lie to him. It was hard to lie to the ones you loved. Lying to them felt as though she had slapped them in the face and called them dumb. She had respect for them all.  
  
He sat down beside her and she leaned her back against his chest. Kissing the top of her head, he let out a long sigh. For that moment, both shared the same feelings. Both had been through Hell literally and both had the same anxieties. They shared the same pain. Buffy let out short burst of laughter that turned into sobbing.   
  
"Oh God Angel it hurts so much." Buffy cried.  
  
"I know...shhhhh." he whispered into her ear and held her close.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Xander kept his eyes on the small untamed path. This was only his second time going up the cliff. All he remembered was that it looked out over Sunnydale. In a few minutes the sun would rise. Right now, right now was what they called the darkest hour. The hours just before dawn.  
  
He finally made it to the top and took a deep breath. He saw a figure that kneeled on the ground, looking over the cliff towards the small town. The cool wind blew the girl's hair to the side. The scene almost looked like a piece of art. Like some photograph you'd see in an art museum or in a magazine. The serenity, the peace. All that he had tried to come to terms with over the past few weeks. All those feelings were summed up to what stood before him. They had been right in front of him the whole time.  
  
"Hey Buff." Xander said quietly.  
  
She kept her eyes looking towards the glowing horizon. An angel, that was what she reminded him of. Something he hadn't thought of for weeks. Through all the terror, she still seemed to have a kind of quiet innocent look about her. "Look out there." she breathed.  
  
  
(I was waiting for so long   
For a miracle to come   
Everyone told me to be strong   
Hold on and don't shed a tear)   
  
He looked. The sun just peaking in the horizon. The rays pierced the night sky, pushing away the darkness for a new day to come. It was beautiful. An image that would last a lifetime. It was one of those moments where every bad element faded away into nothing. All the turbulence in his life, all the rough waves that slammed into him, they all calmed into placid water. He smiled and walked up next to her.  
  
(Through the darkness and good times   
I knew I'd make it through   
And the world thought I had it all   
But I was waiting for you)   
  
"Look at it. Isn't it beautiful?" Buffy asked not looking away from the sky. It started to glow in different colors. Almost like a painting. Some artist had splashed colors all over a canvas. The red, yellow, orange... It was magic. Something that you could feel, but it was just out of reach. This was one thing nobody could take away from him. Everyone of his friends would fight to the death for it's innocent beauty. This one blessed moment.  
  
"Yeah." He replied pushing his hands into his pockets. He could feel the rays of warmth heating his cold and edgy nerves. It chased away the cool spring night breeze, bringing in the sweet smell of fresh morning dew. The smell of spring.  
  
(I see a light in the sky   
Oh, it's almost blinding me   
I can't believe   
I've been touched by an angel with love)  
  
"I never knew it could be so beautiful." Buffy smiled looking over at him for the first time. Her eyes danced as the glow of the sun reflected off her face taking away all the shadows. And at that moment, he knew he'd be okay. He had to be. Because nothing could ever take away his life and soul unless he let it. He wouldn't let it. She looked back towards the sky. "Everyday it gets more beautiful. Xander... Life's a blessing. We have to use it wisely, cherish it. If we don't, the beauty... this beauty, will fade away and all we have left is darkness."  
  
"Yeah, it'd be a pity to waste." he grinned. "I guess we all get lost sometimes."  
  
She stood up. "And that's why we have friends. To help find us when we're lost."  
  
He nodded.  
  
(Let the rain come down and wash away my tears   
Let it fill my soul and drown my fears   
Let it shatter the walls for a new sun   
A new day has come)  
  
She leaned back on his chest and he put his arms around her.  
  
"Life is better when you have a guide. Someone to bring you out of the darkness and direct you back into the light." Buffy sighed.   
  
He nodded and looked out as the sun crawled into the sky to bathe the town with it's glowing rays. So life was hard, but all of them had pushed though it before. Suddenly he became aware of what Buffy went through everyday. She came to this realization while others abused it. Life was a bunch of moments. What you do with them would be your decision.  
  
(Where it was dark now there's light   
Where there was pain now there's joy   
Where there was weakness, I found my strength   
All in the eyes of a boy)   
  
"Another day in the Hellmouth?" Xander grinned. Buffy laughed.  
  
  
(Hush, love   
  
I see a light in the sky   
Oh, it's almost blinding me   
I can't believe   
I've been touched by an angel with love   
  
Let the rain come down and wash away my tears   
Let it fill my soul and drown my fears   
Let it shatter the walls for a new sun)  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Hey look, it's Will." Xander called out grinning, his face full of mischief.  
  
Willow looked at him confused. Last night he brushed her off and today he acted as if everything was normal. She knew those were signs of denial. It was in her psychology book. She looked at Oz with worry, but he just shrugged as if not noticing the quick change of attitude. The two made their way through the horde of teenagers who had one thing in mind, food.  
  
Buffy stood near her locker throwing books at Xander who tried to catch them and put them in her bag. As soon as the last book dropped to the floor, the Slayer slammed the locker door closed and looked over at Xander with a sly grin.  
  
(Let the rain come down and wash away my tears   
Let it fill my soul and drown my fears   
Let it shatter the walls for a new sun)  
  
"Thanks for the much needed help." She laughed as he took a book that he hadn't caught off the floor and put it into her book bag. Throwing the book bag over his shoulder with his satchel, he shoved his free hand in his pocket.  
  
"No prob, anything for the Bufster." Xander nodded and waved them over. Willow slowly came over, shouldering her own bag. "You know, you could try handing them to me. It's a fast and easy concept. First you take the book out of the locker and place it in my hand. Then you make sure I have it and let go of the book. I put it into the book bag aka backpack. It makes it a whole lot easier."  
  
"That takes out all the fun." Buffy patted him on the back and put her crutch on to the ground. She leaned on it, waiting for them to get over to where they were. "I mean, since you're enjoying that 'Buffy has to get help' routine, well I might as well make it as tough as possible. It wouldn't make it fun and worth while for me."  
  
Willow grinned. "Hey guys. How...how's everybody doing? Good I hope because you know bad is just... you know bad."  
  
"What's up with Chucky?" Buffy asked Xander who shrugged.  
  
"Who?" Willow asked confused.  
  
"Chucky, you know. The guy from Rugrats." Buffy raised an eyebrow at her. Willow felt even more confused. Everything just didn't seem right.  
  
Oz grinned and nodded. "I think it's sexy."  
  
"Okay, what am I missing?" Willow asked looking at all of them.  
  
Xander nodded. "You see, why are you acting so cautious? Relax. We're cool. No need to tip toe around us. We aren't breakable... At least I don't think we are... uh... Buff, want to chime in here and help poor Xander?"  
  
"We're okay, I think that's what he's trying to say. If not, well... I don't really understand the Xander' jargon as well as I thought." Buffy shook her head at Xander who gave a sheepish shrug as if he couldn't help himself.  
  
Oz put his arm around her and kissed her on the cheek. Finally letting down her guard, she let out a long sigh.   
  
(I can't believe   
I've been touched by an angel with love)  
  
"Alright, my stomach's growling. It's like a big ol' beast kind of thing. It's got a mind of it's own. Let's go eat before I waste away into oblivion." Xander pointed towards the cafeteria.  
  
"Okay Scrappy-Doo." Willow grinned following Buffy and Oz to the cafeteria. Xander stopped for a moment trying to think of what she had just said. Then he made the most hurt face he could come up with. It wasn't very good since he kept smiling.  
  
"Hey." He said bringing up the tail. "That wasn't very friend-like. Take that back."  
  
  
  
______________Please Review_____________ 


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